History and Utopia
History and Utopia (French: Histoire et utopie) is a 1960 philosophical book by the Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran (1911-1995), which analyzes the ascendancy of the Soviet Union, the psychology of tyranny, and the historical concept of Utopia. The book also deals with several negative themes which permeate Cioran's work, including dissatisfaction with the world, the importance of negative emotions, and philosophical pessimism. Born in Romania, Cioran wrote several early philosophical works in his native Romanian language. As a young man Cioran sympathized with the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist movement. This prompted him to write The Transfiguration of Romania (1936-7), a work which argued for the installation of a totalitarian government in Romania.