The Vitality of Contradiction : Hegel, Politics, and the Dialectic of Liberal-Capitalism

Annotation In The Vitality of Contradiction, Bruce Gilbert provides an exposition of Hegels political philosophy to establish not only that societies fail because of their contradictions, but also how the unsurpassable oppositions of social life cultivate freedom. He moves beyond Hegels works to consider the limits of liberal-capitalism and the contemporary social movements around the world that stretch us beyond the global economic system. Drawing on key Hegel texts such as Phenomenology of Spirit and the Philosophy of Right, Gilbert shows how societies outgrow themselves as they come to recognize key aspects of freedom and justice. He argues that the dialectic requires that we recognize how liberal-capitalism has both cultivated freedom and yet fails to lead us to more sophisticated forms of freedom. Gilbert also highlights organizations including Brazils Movement of Landless Workers and the Mondragon cooperative in Spain and the sophisticated ways in which they are teaching the world new and better ways to be free. Engaging and perceptive, The Vitality of Contradiction illuminates the basic principles behind Hegels political thought and indicates the ways in which his work encourages people to strive for a form of socialist democracy In The Vitality of Contradiction Bruce Gilbert provides an exposition of Hegel's political philosophy to establish not only that societies fail because of their contradictions, but also how the unsurpassable oppositions of social life cultivate freedom. Moving beyond Hegel's works he considers the limits of liberal-capitalism and the contemporary social movements around the world that stretch us beyond the global economic system. Drawing on key Hegel texts such as Phenomenology of Spirit and the Philosophy of Right, Gilbert shows how societies outgrow themselves as they come to recognize key aspects of freedom and justice. He argues that the dialectic requires that we recognize how liberal-capitalism has both cultivated freedom and yet fails to lead us to more sophisticated forms of freedom. Gilbert highlights organizations including Brazil's Movement of Landless Workers and the Mondragon cooperative in Spain and the ways in which they are teaching the world new and better ways to be free. Engaging and perceptive, The Vitality of Contradiction illuminates the basic principles behind Hegel's political thought and indicates the ways in which his work encourages people to strive for a form of socialist democracy. Book jacket Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Abbreviations of Hegel’s Works Preface Introduction PART ONE The Dialectic of Political Life 1 Empirical and Conceptual Dialectic 2 Mutual Recognition, Freedom, and Vital Contradiction 3 The Conceptual Dialectic of Political Life: First Steps 4 The Dialectic of the Ethical Society 5 The Condition of Right: Individual Freedom and Tyranny 6 Alienation and the Society of Absolute Freedom PART TWO Freedom and the Just Society 7 The Fundamental Institutions of a Just Society 8 The Vital Contradiction of Civil Society and the State 9 Economy and Governance PART THREE Liberal-Capitalism and the Cultivation of Freedom 10 The Dialectics of Liberal-Capitalism 11 Liberal-Capitalism and Socialist Civil Democracy Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Bruce Gilbert. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 329-346) And Index. Issued Also In Electronic Format. How the fundamental tensions of social and political life teach us to be free.