- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Online publication date:
- September 2025
- Print publication year:
- 2025
- Online ISBN:
- 9781009584760
Hegel Beyond Liberalism
Book description
Hegel's political philosophy has long been associated with some form of social or welfare liberalism. Questioning this interpretation, Bernardo Ferro shows that Hegel's work harbours a more ambitious philosophical project, which points to a different vision of modern society. Ferro claims that Hegel's account of the state should be read not as a complement to his characterization of civil society, but as a direct challenge to its underlying logic. He then draws the political and economic conclusions implicit in this line of approach, arguing that the conscious pursuit of the common good Hegel regards as essential to a rational state is not compatible with either a capitalist production system or a constitutional monarchy: a true dialectical synthesis of the particular interests of individuals and the general interests of society entails nothing less than a comprehensive democratization of the economic and the political spheres, and the need for this transformation holds the key to Hegel's enduring political relevance.
Reviews
‘In this controversial but compelling interpretation of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, Bernardo Ferro shows that the basic thrust of Hegel's social and political philosophy is transformative. His book is poised to make a lasting impact not only on Hegel scholarship but, much more broadly, on general debates about the proper relationship between freedom, the market, and the state.'
Hannes Kuch - Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
‘In recent decades, Hegel's political philosophy has been read in a predominantly liberal way. In offering an interpretation of Hegel that runs against this trend, this book successfully revives the core of his political thought, which focuses on the good life of the collective. The Hegel that emerges through these pages is a sharp critic of capitalism, whose work lays the ground for a conception of democracy that is not confined to politics, but extends into the realm of economic production.’
Arash Abazari - Emory University
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