In Hegel’s Political Philosophy, this curated and intellectually rigorous volume, edited by Walter Arnold Kaufmann, serves as both a forensic examination and a historical dissection of one of the most enigmatic figures in Western thought. Kaufmann navigates the complexities of Hegelian political theory, presenting an unsparing analysis that not only introduces readers to Hegel’s ideas but also confronts the ideological distortions and controversies that have plagued Hegel’s legacy for over a century. This volume emerges as a vital resource for understanding Hegel’s vision of the state, freedom, and ethical life, while addressing the misinterpretations perpetuated by both defenders and detractors alike.
Kaufmann’s project is an ambitious historiographical endeavor. He charts how Hegel’s political philosophy has been co-opted and weaponized across different eras—whether as a tool for Prussian nationalism, as fodder for conservative retrenchment, or as evidence in critiques of totalitarianism. In doing so, Kaufmann positions Hegel within a broader historical discourse that extends from the post-Napoleonic Restoration to the ideological battlegrounds of the 20th century. The inclusion of pivotal mid-20th-century debates—such as those from Philosophy magazine in the 1940s and Encounter in the 1960s—underscores the enduring philosophical stakes of Hegel’s rehabilitation and the contested nature of his political thought.
These debates come to life through the incisive critiques of Sidney Hook and the astute defenses offered by Shlomo Avineri. Hook accuses Hegel’s philosophy of enabling reactionary statism and incipient authoritarianism, while Avineri argues for a more nuanced reading that situates Hegel as a thinker committed to a vision of freedom grounded in ethical life. Kaufmann’s editorial voice unites these perspectives with judicious clarity, challenging facile binaries—liberal versus conservative, progressive versus reactionary—that have dominated interpretations of Hegel’s work.
A cornerstone of this volume is Kaufmann’s seminal essay, The Hegel Myth and its Method, where he dismantles the methodological errors and misquotations that have distorted Hegel’s legacy. The notorious mistranslation of Hegel’s phrase, “Es ist der Gang Gottes in der Welt, dass der Staat ist,” becomes emblematic of these misconceptions. Rather than endorsing the state as an instrument of divine power, Hegel’s actual position is far more subtle: the state, in his dialectical framework, represents an ethical institution reflecting the rational development of human freedom.
This volume also features critical contributions from T.M. Knox, E.F. Carritt, and Z.A. Pelczynski, whose spirited exchanges further illuminate the complexities of Hegelian political thought. Knox’s defense of Hegel against charges of Prussianism and Carritt’s skeptical counterarguments reveal the difficulties of pinning Hegel to any fixed ideological category. These debates expose the tensions in Hegel’s thought between individual autonomy and state authority, between liberal aspirations and conservative realities.
Kaufmann’s approach does not shy away from Hegel’s ambiguities and contradictions. Was Hegel a liberal reformer or a reactionary apologist? A proto-totalitarian or a philosopher of freedom? Kaufmann’s answer is that Hegel was neither—and both. His dialectical method defies simplistic categorization, embodying a merger of subjective individuality and objective ethical order. For Hegel, the state is the realization of “concrete freedom,” a unity that is never static but constantly evolving through the contradictions of modern social life.
Context is key to Kaufmann’s exploration. Hegel wrote in the turbulence of post-Revolutionary Europe, an era marked by the collapse of feudal structures, the rise of modern bureaucracies, and the struggle to balance Enlightenment ideals of liberty with the need for social order. Kaufmann shows how Hegel’s Philosophy of Right responds to these challenges, offering a vision of the state that seeks to harmonize individual rights with communal obligations. Far from defending the status quo, Hegel’s assertion that “the real is the rational” reflects a plea to understand and, when necessary, reform social institutions to better embody rational principles.
Yet, Kaufmann also confronts the darker facets of Hegel’s thought—his skepticism toward democracy, his cautious approach to popular sovereignty, and his insistence on the primacy of the state. Rather than dismissing these elements as authoritarian, Kaufmann situates them within Hegel’s broader philosophical project: an attempt to articulate a freedom that is both individual and communal. Hegel’s anxieties about revolutionary excess and ethical fragility are presented not as reactionary defenses but as reflections of a deep concern for the stability of modern ethical life.
The volume culminates in an exploration of Hegel’s concept of Sittlichkeit, or ethical life—the bedrock of his political philosophy. For Hegel, the modern state actualizes individual freedom through the institutions of family, civil society, and government. Kaufmann analyses the contradictions inherent in this ethical life, where personal autonomy clashes with collective duty, and individual rights intersect with social obligations. This dialectical process, Kaufmann argues, reveals the dynamic, open-ended nature of Hegel’s thought, challenging the notion that Hegel’s philosophy is a closed system justifying the status quo.
In an age marked by political polarization and ideological rigidity, Kaufmann’s volume offers a compelling case for the relevance of Hegel’s dialectical method. By wrestling with the contradictions and tensions in Hegel’s vision of ethical life, Kaufmann and his contributors remind us that philosophy is not about facile answers but about rigorous questioning. Hegel’s Political Philosophy is a proof to the enduring complexity of Hegel’s work and its profound significance for contemporary political challenges.
For anyone seeking to navigate the various areas of Hegelian thought, this compendium provides both a map and a challenge: an invitation to think dialectically, to question deeply, and to recognize that the quest for freedom is an ongoing process. Kaufmann’s erudition and analytical clarity in editing this volume make it essential reading for understanding Hegel’s legacy—a legacy that continues to shape and provoke the discourse of political philosophy.
Simon Gros 
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