Hegel's Critique of Liberalism: Rights in Context

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University of Chicago Press, 1991 M09 10 - 251 pages
In Hegel's Critique of Liberalism, Steven B. Smith examines Hegel's critique of rights-based liberalism and its relevance to contemporary political concerns. Smith argues that Hegel reformulated classic liberalism, preserving what was of value while rendering it more attentive to the dynamics of human history and the developmental structure of the moral personality. Hegel's goal, Smith suggests, was to find a way of incorporating both the ancient emphasis on the dignity and even architectonic character of political life with the modern concern for freedom, rights, and mutual recognition. Smith's insightful analysis reveals Hegel's relevance not only to contemporary political philosophers concerned with normative issues of liberal theory but also to political scientists who have urged a revival of the state as a central concept of political inquiry.
 

Contents

1 Why Hegel Today?
1
2 The Origins of the Hegelian Project
17
3 The Critique of the Liberal Theory of Rights
57
4 Hegels Theory of Rights
98
5 The Hegelian Rechtsstaat
132
6 Hegels Idea of a Critical Theory
165
7 Reason and History
194
8 Hegel and the Liberal Legacy
232
Index
247
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About the author (1991)

Steven B. Smith is the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is the author of four books, most recently Spinoza's Book of Life: Freedom and Redemption in the "Ethics."

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