These essays, containing the reflections of the most influential philosopher of the "Prague Spring," deal with the crisis of state, party, society, and the individual in Czechoslovakia existing up until December 1969. Known primarily to English-speaking audiences as the author of Dialectics of the Concrete, Kosik is recognized for his contribution to the ongoing scholarship intended to relate Marx's ideas to the contemporary world. All of the essays in this collection appeared originally in Czechoslovakia over a period from 1961 to 1969. This edition, making most of them available to English readers for the first time, includes a new preface by Kosik and reflects his own changes to the earlier versions, incorporating material which was cut out by censors at their original publication.