Hegel's Implicit Presence in the Debate
This text is a preview of History of the Reception of Hegel, volume II, to be published in 2026 by Reflexivity Press.
What the Communitarians Take from Hegel
All three communitarians draw — explicitly or implicitly — on Hegelian motifs:
The critique of abstraction: the isolated individual who chooses behind the “veil of ignorance” is a fiction. The real individual is socially constituted, shaped by recognition, embedded in communities.
The emphasis on ethical life: morality is not the application of abstract principles but participation in concrete forms of life. Institutions (family, community, state) are not constraints on freedom but its realization.
The critique of formalism: the categorical imperative (in Kant) or the veil of ignorance (in Rawls) are empty. They do not say what one should do, only how one should test it. But the test already presupposes substantive convictions.
What the Communitarians Correct in Hegel
But the communitarians are not pure Hegelians. They correct Hegel on important points:
MacIntyre criticizes Hegel’s state-centeredness: the relevant communities are not the state but the small communities of practice — craftspeople, scholars, families.
Sandel criticizes Hegel’s teleology: history has no goal, reason does not necessarily triumph, the state is not the endpoint of development.
Walzer criticizes Hegel’s hierarchy: the spheres do not stand in a hierarchical relation (with the state at the top) but side by side as equals.