The drama of the national crisis we are experiencing has prompted a deeper and healthy need for reflection on the course of Greece. The motivation for this national introspection is obviously self-awareness, understanding how we got here, what and how we have achieved, and what and why we have failed.
In such moments, turning to great thinkers is necessary and redemptive. It helps us to see the broad and essential lines. It offers us general interpretive frameworks that we can agree or disagree with, but nevertheless forces us to think.
Panagiotis Kondylis (1943-1998) is widely regarded as one of the most important thinkers of modern Greece, and his work is a valuable legacy for reflection and dialogue. Thus, the "Themelio" publications are once again publishing an important text of his, which has been a constant reference for understanding modern Greece since its publication.
This is the introduction to the Greek edition of his book, "The Decline of Urban Civilization: from the Modern to the Postmodern Era and from Liberalism to Mass Democracy," which was first published in 1991 by our press under the title "The Atrophy of the Urban Element in Modern Greek Society and Ideology." In fact, it was a self-sufficient separate essay, with which the author sought to intervene in another difficult moment of the country.
For this reason, we proceeded with its standalone publication. But also because we believe that reissuing it in a handy and economical form is necessary. The comprehensiveness and insight of the analysis contribute to the public discussion taking place today in Greece about Greece.
