This concise classic is the most accessible work in the canon of one of the 20th centurysgreatest political scientists. Eric Voegelin here contends that certain modern movements, including Positivism, Hegelianism, Marxism, and the God is Dead movement, are variants of the Gnostic tradition of antiquity. Highly provocative, this book is essential reading for students of modern politics, philosophy, and religion.Hailed by the American Political Science Review as one of the most distinguished interpreters to Americans of the non-liberal streams of European thought, Professor Voegelin was director of the Institute for Political Science at the University of Munich as well as professor of political science and lecturer at numerous universities in the United States and Europe.With a new introduction by Ellis Sandoz, professor of political science at Lousiana State University and director of the Eric Voegelin Institute for American Renasissance Studies.