The Human Condition

The renowned political thinker and author of The Origins of Totalitarianism examines the troubling consequences of humanity's increasing power.
A work of striking originality, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant today than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind in terms of its ever-expanding capabilities. Her analysis reveals a troubling paradox: that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions.
This new edition contains Margaret Canovan's 1998 introduction and a new foreword by Danielle Allen. A classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition offers a penetrating analysis of a conundrum that has only become more acute in the 21st century.

Hannah Arendt is widely considered one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. The University of Chicago Press also publishes her Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy and Love and Saint Augustine, as well as The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem. Margaret Canovan is an English political theorist who has published widely on Arendt. Her books include The People and Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought. Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and the author, most recently, of Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.