Marx and Hegel on the Dialectic of the Individual and the Social

Marx and Hegel on the Dialectic of the Individual and the Social is a detailed investigation of the major works of Hegel and the young Marx with exploring how the concept of the individual is positioned within their ontologies and how this positioning is reflected in their related political views. Instead of contrasting a Marxist understanding of the individual with that of a liberal thinker, Sevgi Dogan chooses to take Hegel’s theory of the state as representative of the modern state, which Marx criticizes. The decision to be in opposition to Hegel rather than some other liberal thinkers is important for two reasons. First, since Marx has developed many of his early ideas in critical interaction with Hegel, this comparative approach enables the book to present a more thorough and well-grounded exposition of Marx’s arguments. Second, since Hegel himself has also criticized the concepts of liberal ideology in many respects, differentiating Marx’s arguments from those of Hegel’s enables the book to underline how and why Hegel’s critique of liberal ideology falls short of actually empowering individuals in the way that Marx’s account does.

Sevgi Dogan’s study links Marx as philosopher and as political theorist in original ways. While she shows that the individual is for Marx always social, she equally shows the contrary, that Marx does not privilege the social over the individual. This has important implications for a democratic theory that seeks to free us not only from state oppression, but also from that of capital. It is extremely timely in an age of authoritarian capitalist oligarchs. Kevin B. Anderson, author of Marx at the Margins: On Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies, This wide-ranging exploration of the concept of the individual in Western political thought, and especially as developed in the thought of Hegel and Marx, brings a fresh perspective to the question of why societies that claim to cherish “individual freedom” actual stifle the emergence of what Marx called “the realm of free individuality” in favor of the dominance of capital. This is a serious and thought-provoking study., Writing with passion and conviction, Sevgi Dogan makes a valuable contribution to the contemporary political philosophy of individuality and agency, developing this through an original critical engagement with the history of ideas, especially those of Hegel and the young Marx.

Sevgi Doğan is visiting fellow at Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Italy.