Hegel for Radicals: The Philosophy of Right

The MEP’s recurring series Hegel for Radicals continues this Spring with a ten-session seminar on Hegel’s Philosophy of Right.  This work is a treatise on the meaning of freedom and the kind of institutions that are required for its realization.  We will debunk previous myths that Hegel was a reactionary spokesman of the Prussian monarchy and show the truly radical view that Hegel championed under difficult conditions of censorship and political persecution, much like those of our own time. This study of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right is inspired by the insight of Andy Blunden, in his recent book, The Capital-Logic Debate, that the key to understanding Marx’s dialectical method in his investigation of Capital lies in understanding the method Hegel employed in the Philosophy of Right.

Previous classes in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit and/or the Science of Logic will be helpful but are not a requirement for these sessions. Each participant will be expected to make at least one presentation during the ten-week seminar. Familiarity with this work greatly aids any reading of Marx’s Capital. Alex Steinberg will guide participants past the legendary obstacles to understanding this supremely concrete application of Hegel’s dialectical method.

Alex Steinberg is the facilitator of Hegel for Radicals. He is an independent scholar who has taught and published on topics such as the philosophy of Heidegger and Nazism, Marxism and humanism, Hegel’s philosophy of history and Hegel’s Phenomenology at various alternative educational institutions. Alex has also been involved with the governance of WBAI radio in New York and its parent organization, Pacifica, most recently as the Chair of the Pacifica National Board from 2020-2021.