The period between the two World Wars was one of insecurity, fear, and tremendous experimentation in ideas, politics, and economics.

This assignment involves reading excerpts from Sigmund Freud’s classic work, Civilization and Its Discontents, and Arthur Koestler’s “The God that Failed” and writing summaries of their arguments. (You might want to review Chapter 30 in the textbook before doing this assignment. Also, use a dictionary!) Moreover, in writing your summaries, you will need to incorporate answers to the following questions:

1. Freud seems to be talking about psychological issues, but does this excerpt suggest that he is actually dealing with larger concerns, ones that were social or political?

2. How does Koestler explain his initial acceptance of Communism and his later rejection of it?
Avoid simply paraphrasing the author’s arguments. Explain things in your own way so that I can assess your understanding of the issues presented. Be your own person!