Leszek Kolakowski on Endless, [rial yO.RAITYThe University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 1990 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 1990 Paperback edition 1997 Printed in the United States of America 01 00 99 98 97 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kolakowski, Leszek Modernity on endless trial / Leszek Kolakowski. cm. ISBN 0-226 45045-7 (cloth) ISBN 0-226-45046-5 (paperback) 1. Civilization, Modern—20th century. 2. Philosophy, Modern—20th century. 3. Civilization— Philosophy. I. Title. CB430.K64 1990 909.82—de20 90-35966 fondI Il IV Contents Foreword vii os Modernity, Barbarity, and Intellectuals + 1. Modernity on Endless Trial 3 2. Looking for the Barbarians: The Illusions of Cultural Universalism 14 3. The Intellectuals 32 4, Why Do We Need Kant? 44 5. In Praise of Exile 55 a the Dilemmas of the Christian Legacy 61 6. The Revenge of the Sacred in Secular Culture 63 7. Can the Devil Be Saved? 75 8. On the So-Called Crisis of Christianity 86 9. The Illusion of Demythologization 95 10. Philosophical Faith in the Face of Revelation 108 11. From Truth to Truth 120 On Liberals, Revolutionaries, and Utopians 129 12. The Death of Utopia Reconsidered 131 13. The Idolatry of Politics 146 14. The Self-Poisoning of the Open Society 162 15. Politics and the Devil 175 16. Irrationality in Politics 192 17. Marxism and Human Rights 204 18. Revolution—a Beautiful Sickness 215 19. How to Be a Conservative-Liberal-Socialist: A Credo 225 On Scientific Theories 229 20. Why an Ideology Is Always Right 231 21. The General Theory of Not-Gardening 240