Alienated Citizens: Hegel and Marx on Civil Society

In my paper, I use Jon Stewart's recent analysis of the relationship between Hegel's and Marx's philosophy concerning the issues of alienation and recognition as a starting point for tackling the issue of alienation within civil society.I present key issues in Hegel's presentation of civil society in the Philosophy of Right and Marx's critique of this presentation.I argue that although both accounts are deficient, together they eloquently present the contradictory features of civil society once it attains political character.Ultimately, I concur with Stewart's thesis about the long-term Hegelian influence, and I argue that the rival explanations of civil society of Hegel and Marx are still revealing even today and can significantly contribute to self-understanding within contemporary liberal democracy.