Communism vs. Hegelism - 1679 Words

In the late 18th and early 19th century, revolution was on the tip of the world’s collective tongue. The French monarchy was in the process of being overthrown; there was political and civil unrest throughout Europe. In the midst of all this turmoil Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel emerged, presenting an analysis of history that would echo through the future, an understanding of the human condition, and an estimate of the end of said history and what would bring it about. This end of history would be brought about by the State, for the State’s sole purpose was to bring positive change and freedom to the individual. Less than a century later, Karl Marx released the Communist Manifesto. Marx had drawn heavily from Hegel for basis of his†¦show more content†¦Hegel believed that this was the case because the State, the democratically elected, equally represented State, exists for one reason only: to provide and improve the freedoms of the individual citizens withi n it. The State is created and owned by all the people that it rules, â€Å"The State, its laws, its arrangements, are the rights of its members† (Hegel 346). As a result, Hegel believes that there can be no further progression of society, as there is no longer a class to oppress another. There will be no more class struggle, no more uprisings, no more revolution for all changes will now be made within the State. Change will occur, but history, as Hegel has described it, will no longer progress. By stating that history has ceased and that we have reached our perfect method of achieving freedom, Hegel has essentially proposed a perfect, overly idealistic world; a world which we have no indication that we have reached, and if we still have yet to improve, he makes no mention of where improvement much occur. In essence, this leaves those following a Hegelian view of society without any real path to follow, and no set objective to achieve. Conversely, Marx lays out not onl y what is required of the world in order to attain our perfect societal state, but also what is required in order to arrive there. Carl Marx, while similar to Hegel in some ways