Reason and revolution : Hegel and the rise of social theory

It is of the very definition of any classic work that it will not only introduce a new depth and direction of thought, but that its original insights endure. When it first appeared in 1940, Reason and Revolution by Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) was acclaimed for its profound and undistorted reading of Hegel's social and political theory. Today, the appreciation of Marcuse's work has remained high, more relevant now than ever before. In the rapidly changing context of post-Cold War political realities, there is no better guide than Marcuse to where we have been and to what we might expect. As he well understood, turbulent and spectacular political events always ran within channels earlier set by political theory; and he equally understood that it was Hegel's often unappreciated and misunderstood theory which actually set a fundamental path of modern political life. It is a fortunate combination to have a scholar of Marcuse's brilliance and lucid honesty addressing the sources and consequences of Hegel's social theory. This classic study offers a masterful interpretation of Hegel's philosophy in its bearings on European thought from the French Revolution to the twentieth century. "It is of the very definition of any "classic" work that it not only introduce a new depth and direction of thought, but that its original insights endure. Such is the case with Herbert Marcuse's Reason and Revolution. When this study first appeared in 1940, it was acclaimed for its profound and undistorted reading of Hegel's social and political theory. As its many editions bear witness, especially this one hundredth anniversary edition commemorating the author's birth, the appreciation of Marcuse's work has remained undiminished, and indeed it is today more relevant than ever before."--BOOK JACKET. **Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social Theory** (1941; second edition 1954) is a book by the philosopher Herbert Marcuse, in which the author discusses the social theories of the philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx. Marcuse reinterprets Hegel, with the aim of demonstrating that Hegel's basic concepts are hostile to the tendencies that led to fascism. The book has received praise as an important discussion of Hegel and Marx. (Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason_and_Revolution)) This text argues that turbulent and spectacular political events always run within channels earlier set by political theory. It was Hegel's theory which set a fundamental path of modern political life and the book addresses the sources and consequences of Hegel's social theory.