One of the most prevailing modern prejudices consists of the belief in the superiority of the achievements enabled by the development of modern thought, over all previous forms of thought. This belief has been put today into question: the mortal threats for humanity and its world engendered by technical progress, the doubts about the possibility of universal enlightenment, of universal and perpetual peace, call into question dramatically the self-confidence of Western civilization. The modern project aimed at establishing paradise on earth; however, it may be no intolerable exaggeration to say that in some of its latest attempts at accomplishment, it came not so far from establishing hell on earth. Leaving aside various short-lived attempts to restore traditional positions or to elaborate eclectic syntheses, we notice that this situation prompts many present-day thinkers to try to trace back, through historical studies, the genealogy of modern thought, in order to understand the source and conditions of such a failure.

Alexandre Kojève, the famous commentator of Hegel, still stood for the modern project, the aim of which he called “universal and homogeneous State,” the End-State which is supposed to fulfill the fundamental aspirations of Man, to solve all contradictions and conflicts in human thought and action. Kojève challenged On Tyranny, Leo Strauss's defense and illustration of the classical view of the fundamental problems through a commentary on Xenophon's Hiero.