"Best known as the author of The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt (1818-97) is one of the most important figures in the development of European historiography. His critique of modernity and his emphasis on the importance of cultural history have helped to shape intellectual history in Europe, as have his analyses of political power, particularly those concerning totalitarianism. In this work, the first book-length study in English of Burckhardt's political and social thought, Richard Sigurdson explores the major themes in Burckhardt's political writings: the relationship between the individual and mass society, the tensions between equality and excellence, the quality and nature of culture in a mass age, and the role of the intellectual in the modern world."--BOOK JACKET.