Hegel, Marx, and the English State

Challenging standard interpretations of Hegel and Marx's political theory, this book considers the nature of the state in capitalist society. Revealing the revolutionary content of Hegel's social theory and the Hegelian themes that underlie Marx's analysis of the state in "Capital", the author shows how the transformation of the English state in the 19th century influenced the mature Marx to reclaim Hegelian arguments he had earlier abandoned. These ideas included a theory of politics and social class that coloured Marx's view of capitalist and working class opposition to government reform initiatives.