In this, his most influential work, legal theorist and political philosopher Carl Schmitt argues that liberalisms basis in individual rights cannot provide a reasonable justification for sacrificing oneself for the state—a critique as cogent today as when it first appeared. George Schwabs introduction to his translation of the 1932 German edition highlights Schmitts intellectual journey through the turbulent period of German history leading to the Hitlerian one-party state. In addition to analysis by Leo Strauss and a foreword by Tracy B. Strong placing Schmitts work into contemporary context, this expanded edition also includes a translation of Schmitts 1929 lecture The Age of Neutralizations and Depoliticizations, which the author himself added to the 1932 edition of the book.
