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A Criticism Of The Hegelian Philosophy Of Right by Karl Marx

decadent_and_depraved's review against another edition

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4.0

Marx meticulously dismantles some of Hegel's worst and most reactionary arguments.

Marx cuts off the monarch's head, for Hegel did not explain why it ought to be there in the first place.
Marx argues against the static constitution of Hegel in favor of a constitution that within itself contains a principle to transform itself according to the consciousness of people at the time. This way, as people advance, they will not be shackled by codified antiquated ideas.
Marx argues against Hegel's technocrats, by properly pointing out how they will inevitably fall prey to their own material conditions, irrespective of the "nobility" of the position.
Marx argues against Hegel's anti-democratic views and distrust of the masses, by pointing out that Hegel heavily relies on the idea that representation is built on trust, yet seems to completely ignore it in this case.

This work is a good exhibit of differences between Marx's and Hegel's philosophies. This was written before Marx become an absolute materialist, and for that, this might be one of the better Marx's works. It is not perfect by any means, for example, when Marx talks about religion, he thoroughly ignores that, besides religion being used by the powerful to pacify the masses and by the masses to ease the suffering produced by their material conditions, it is also used to help us grapple with death. Whatever your opinion on this fact is, it remains so, and Marx cannot account for it in his analysis of religion.

alexlanz's review against another edition

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Like Poverty of Philosophy, this is like a warm-up run for the logical method worked out in the 1857 Introduction; but this is a lot harder to read.

kisdead's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced
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