A British intellectual of hereditary descent and an experienced diplomat who contributed greatly to overcoming the consequences of two world wars, Toynbee went down in history as a fundamental critic of the concept of Eurocentrism and the creator of a new civilizational theory. At the height of the Cold War, in an atmosphere of confrontation between the capitalist West and the communist East, the English thinker consistently defended the position that the salvation of the planet could only lie in finding a middle way between the two warring poles, and that the role of religions, called upon to promote the spiritual perfection of humanity, became crucial in this salvation.
This book contains theoretical articles, primarily from 1947—the year Toynbee appeared on the cover of Time magazine, whose headline read: "The most provocative historical theory written in England since Karl Marx's 'Capital.'"