On Tyranny

Author: Strauss and others (compiled by the American)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Ancient classics believed that due to human weakness or dependence, universal happiness is impossible, and thus, they never dreamed of a completed history. With their spiritual eyes, they saw a happy society, a society where human nature has the highest possibility. However, since they also saw how limited human power is, they believed that the realization of the best regime depends on luck. Modern people, on the other hand, are not satisfied with this utopia; they try to ensure the realization of the best social order. To succeed, or rather, to make themselves believe they can succeed, they must lower human goals: replace moral virtue with universal recognition, and replace happiness with the satisfaction derived from universal recognition. – Strauss’s debate is quite unusual. Usually, in cases of such deep and intense disagreements, serious discussions are rare, but both sides’ desire to understand the issue is stronger than their desire to stick to their positions. This is why they so thoroughly articulated their propositions. – De Coup d’état by Guérewich/Ros is a seminal work by Strauss that laid the foundation for his Platonic political philosophy research. It holds epoch-making significance not only for his academic career but also for the academic history of the 20th century—and even since the Enlightenment. However, as Walther Wachowin said, Strauss’s work is difficult to understand, marked by obscurity—indeed, we need to read it as Strauss read Xenophon’s Hiero. Translating De Coup d’état from English to French was challenging, and so was translating Kojève’s commentary from French to English. Both translations into Chinese are even more difficult, let alone the private correspondence that frequently discusses profound metaphysical issues yet is written in highly unconventional language—We are truly fortunate to have been able to invite He Ji, who has translated major works of political philosophy, to take on this translation.