My Philosophy Essays on the Moral and Political Problems of our Time

Originally published in 1949, Croce’s essays on political, philosophic and aesthetic subjects, selected from both his earlier and later writings possess a remarkable underlying unity. The political essays which form a major part of this volume display a criticism, either direct or implied of the mass creeds and movements that subordinate the individual to history. They combine a passionate belief in liberty with critical and historical judgment.

Part 1: Discourses on Philosophy 1. My Philosophy 2. The Moral Problem of Our Time 3. Why We Cannot Help Calling Ourselves Christians Part 2: Philosophy of Politics 4. Unpolitical Man 5. The State as Friend and as Enemy 6. An Essay in Communist Philosophy 7. Note on the History of Communism as Practical Politics 8. The Idea of Classes as Real Entities 9. Aristocracy and the Masses 10. Political Truth and Popular Myths 11. Liberalism and Democracy 12. Justice and Liberty 13. Liberty and Revolution 14. The Theory of Liberty Once More 15. Justice as a Legal Conception 16. Peace and War 17. The Idealisation of War 18. Patriotism: A Disused Word 19. Denationalisation of History Part 3: Problems of Ethics and Aesthetics 20. The Intellectual Life: Morals and Aesthetics 21. Art as the Form of Pure Knowledge 22. The Two Profane Sciences: Aesthetics and Economics 23. The Conflict of Duties 24. Manual Work and Work of the Mind Part 4: Philosophy of History 25. Providence or the ‘Cunning of the Idea’ 26. The History of Ends and the History of Means 27. The History of Event and Judgments of Value 28. In Praise of Individuality 29. Proust: An Example of Decadent Historical Method Part 5: Various Thoughts 30. Sexuality in Spirituality 31. Our Debt to Thought 32. The ‘Eternal Problems’ 33. Eternal Truth 34. The ‘Final Philosophy’ 35. ‘Eternal Life’ 36. The Identity of Philosophy and the Moral Life 37. Soliloquy of an Old Philosopher