Hegel and Liberalism, A Comparison of Hegel and Rawls\' Political Philosophy, M.A. Thesis, Draft.docx

Hegel’s political philosophy has been regarded by various perspectives and contrasted with a number of traditions in the history of political thought. In this thesis, I compare Hegel’s political philosophy with contemporary liberalism. In particular, I make a comparison between Hegel and Rawls who can be considered as the most important liberal philosopher of the twentieth century. In this thesis I argue that Hegel and Rawls have a number of similarities. With this argument, it is possible to come to an unconventional and interesting interpretation of both Hegel and Rawls. Firstly, showing the similarities between Hegel and Rawls’ political philosophy raises some questions about the interpretation of Hegel as a hardline communitarian and means that a more liberal interpretation of Hegel can be advanced. Secondly, although Rawls’ political philosophy can be regarded as individualistic in some respects, comparing him with Hegel shows how Rawls also has a number of non-individualistic features. Thirdly by showing the similarities between these thinkers, it is also possible to discover some possible aspects in Rawls’ political philosophy that are appropriate for Hegel’s Ethical Life. These aspects provide ideas that can be used to revise Hegel’s Ethical Life and accordingly, make his philosophy more relevant to contemporary political philosophy. In order to do that, I begin by examining Hegel’s political philosophy. In particular, in the first chapter, I discuss Hegel's approach towards political philosophy and his concept of freedom; in the second chapter, I consider Hegel’s view that freedom in its modern concept can only be actualized in Ethical Life, which is the highest stage of Objective Spirit; and in the third chapter, I hold a critical approach towards the connection made between Hegel and totalitarianism and I also consider Hegel’s relationship to liberalism. After discussing Hegel’s political philosophy thoroughly, I compare it with Rawls. In the fourth chapter, I reflect on Hegel and Rawls' views on the method and subject of political philosophy, and I also discuss their differing perspective on the social contract tradition. After this, I then, in the fifth and the last chapter, focus on Rawls’ two principles of justice and argue that these principles have both similarities and differences with Hegel’s conception of distributive justice.