Abstract

In this dissertation, I seek to elucidate Hegel's conception of the place and functions of the economic sphere within civil society and argue that his conception is still relevant as an aid in understanding contemporary civil societies. In achieving this task, I refer primarily to Hegel's Philosophy of Right and his lectures based on this text. ;The focus of this work is on the Aufhebung of the economic sphere and its integration into the social and ethical whole of which it is properly only an aspect. Thus in my discussion of the "system of needs," i.e., the basic economic system, the emphasis is on the manner in which individuals apparently immersed solely in economic concerns are integrated into social wholes exemplified by the Stande, "social classes." ;While social classes represent a first Aufhebung of the merely economic sphere, institutions which incorporate a conscious control over the economic sphere are required to complete this Aufhebung. The heart of my work consists in a detailed discussion of the philosophical grounds for, and the socioeconomic functions of, these regulative and associative institutions, treated by Hegel under the rubric of the Polizei and the Korporation . In the context of the discussion of the functions of the public authority, I take issue with commentators who believe that Hegel is unable to show how the problem of poverty and unemployment can be resolved within the bounds of his social philosophy. I outline the Keynesian solution to this problem and argue that it constitutes an appropriate "Hegelian" solution. ;In my interpretation of the Korporation I focus on how it exemplifies the ethical aspect of the Aufhebung of the economic realm. After clarifying Hegel's idea of the Korporation, I discuss various proposals concerning which modern types of socioeconomic association might be its appropriate heirs. I argue that the kind of "corporatism" exemplified in a number of European societies resembles Hegel's conception most closely