Hegel for Radicals: The Phenomenology of Spirit

The MEP’s recurring Hegel for Radicals series introduces what is living in Hegel for those who want to change the world. Over 16 Saturdays, beginning March 8, we will read and discuss one of the most influential books of all time, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. This massive retelling of humanity defies traditional divisions between history, philosophy, comedy, and tragedy. As participants in Hegel’s Bacchanalian Revel we will step through such themes as

• The Inverted World
• The Dialectic of Master and Slave
• The Cynical Bohemian
• The Beautiful Soul
• Freedom and Terror
• Spirit Externalized as Nature and History
• The Absolute

This journey provides a foundation for Hegel’s dialectic, which is in turn a key to Marx’s Capital.

We recommend the translation by A.V. Miller of the Phenomenology of Spirit, published by Oxford University Press and readily available as an inexpensive paperback.

Alex Steinberg is an independent scholar and lifelong socialist who has taught classes in Marxist philosophy, Hegel, the dialectics of nature, Heidegger, and Nietzsche at the New Space for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education, The Brecht Forum, the Marxist Education Project, and other venues. Alex was a Conference Presenter at the First International Conference on Trotsky in Havana, Cuba. In addition to his scholarly activities Alex has been involved with the governance of WBAI radio, most recently as Chair of the Pacifica National Board from 2019 – 2021.

Matthew Strauss is an independent scholar and a revolutionary communist. He is affiliated with the Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists (CORS) of Columbus, Ohio, and was a member for eleven years of the International Socialist Organization until its dissolution.