The progress of human technology
During the times these essays were penned, there was unimaginable progress made in the technologies of the Western world—especially technology for economic growth and military machinery. Therefore, these essays are concerned with the unintended effects of technology growth on the zeitgeist and on individuals who belong to communities that will be permanently shaped and altered by the changes.
Culture as a morphing constant
The philosophy presented in these essays often involves a broad consideration of the human experience. In Benjamin's point of view, the world is comprised of communities that participate with the zeitgeist, often taking beliefs from the "status quo" of their community. The essays are pointing to that cultural force as something that can go awry, because of modernization and the rapid changes that Benjamin sees. He feels the zeitgeist is changing, and that the change will accelerate, taking human civilizations into futures that are unpredictable and concerning.
Art and the future
These essays reflect on art that also express discontent with the changes of modern times, and he expands the concerns of those essays by elaborating their use of metaphor and by exploring the meaning found in artists like Baudelaire, Proust, and Franz Kafka, a personal favorite of his. He finds solace in the use of literature as a means of diagnosing and illustrating social problems, however, the future might bring changes to literature that Benjamin mentions.
