Norberto Bobbio

«Il problema della filosofia della pace e della guerra è un problema intorno al quale l'uomo è andato meditando da millenni. Quando scoppiò la bomba di Hiroshima, Einstein disse che la guerra combattuta con queste armi avrebbe ricondotto l'uomo all'età della pietra. Oggi, con le bombe termonucleari, ho l'impressione che ogni forma biologica verrebbe cancellata ... È una svolta che pone nel nulla tutto quello che l'uomo ha pensato fino a ieri sul problema della pace e della guerra». Sono raccolti in questo volume alcuni dei suoi scritti più significativi sul tema

"This book by one of Italy's oldest and wisest intellectuals is a philosophical and personal meditation on ageing. The question of old age has preoccupied writers from Cicero to Amrey, but in this volume Norberto Bobbio produces an account that is specific to our times. Born in 1909, Bobbio has lived through the major events of the past century, and his experiences of Fascism, Communism and the Cold War lend his reflections a melancholy that distinguishes them from earlier eulogies on old age and death. Bobbio's conclusions are often sobering, yet his investigations into memory and mortality is written with both humour and emotion."--Jacket.

In this important new book, Norberto Bobbio provides a valuable clarification and defence of human rights. He argues that the development of human rights is an historical sign of progress in a world marked by the proliferation of cruel wars, the arms trade, pollution, famine and almost universal pessimism. Drawing widely on the work of Kant, Locke, Beccaria and Paine, Bobbio argues that the French Revolution is a crucial event in moulding our ideas and attitudes today. He suggests that the proclamation of rights does not necessarily mean that those rights are actually enforced. He carefully traces the development of human rights through various 'generations' - libertarian, social, ecological - and argues that the recognition and effective protection of human rights are the foundations of modern democratic institutions. Human rights, democracy and peace are the three essential components of the same historic movement.

"In this important volume, the leading political theorist and philosopher Norberto Bobbio confronts some of the most enduring moral questions of our time. Written over the last two decades of the twentieth century, the essays in this volume develop some of the central themes in Bobbio's moral and political philosophy. They also reflect his long-standing civil commitment to liberty, democracy, peace and equality."--Jacket.

Home to the largest communist party in a democratic society, Italy has been a unique place politically, one where Christian democrats, fascists, socialists, communists, and others have coexisted in sizable numbers. In this book, Bobbio, who himself played an outstanding role in the development of Italian civic culture, follows each of the major ideologies, explaining how they developed, describing the key actors, and considering their legacies. He wrote Ideological Profile in 1968 to explain the history behind that decade's tumultuous politics. Bobbio's defense of democracy and critique of capitalism are among the themes that will particularly interest American readers of this updated edition, the first to appear in English.

"A Political Life is the compelling autobiography of Norberto Bobbio, one of the foremost political thinkers in postwar Italy. Bobbio guides us through some of the most significant events of the twentieth century, charting their influence on his life and work." "Born in 1909, Norberto Bobbio's early life was marked by the experience of growing up in Mussolini's Italy - an experience that helped to shape his passionate commitment to the anti-fascist cause. As a result of these early experiences, Bobbio has tirelessly emphasized the fundamental, unassailable importance of democratic rights in the modern state. He has been a voice of reason and moderation in a poltical context where democratic values have often been threatened by extremes." "This autobiography traces the development of Bobbio's political thought, providing a penetrating analysis of the changing political landscape of Italy. At the same time, it represents an intimate account of Bobbio's personal experiences, giving a rare insight into the life and work of this distinguished thinker." "A Political Life will be of great interest to students and scholars of social and political theory and of Italian politics, as well as to a general readership interested in political biography and contemporary politics."--Jacket.