Hegel's Ontology of Power

The Structure of Social Domination in Capitalism

Arash Abazari

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781108834865
• eBook ISBN: 9781108883238
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Modern Philosophy

Recent attempts to revitalize Hegel's social and political philosophy have tended to be doubly constrained: firstly, by their focus on Hegel's Philosophy of Right; and secondly, by their broadly liberal interpretive framework. Challenging that trend, Arash Abazari shows that the locus of Hegel's genuine critical social theory is to be sought in his ontology – specifically in the 'logic of essence' of the Science of Logic. Mobilizing ideas from Marx and Adorno, Abazari unveils the hidden critical import of Hegel's logic. He argues that social domination in capitalism obtains by virtue of the illusion of equality and freedom; shows how relations of opposition underlie the seeming pluralism in capitalism; and elaborates on the deepest ground of domination, i.e. the totality of capitalist social relations. Overall, his book demonstrates that Hegel's logic can and should be read politically.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Epigraph
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Note on Abbreviations and Citations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Illusion or Semblance
• Chapter 2 Opposition
• Chapter 3 Totality
• Chapter 4 Capital as Totality
• Chapter 5 The Necessity of Totality
• Conclusion: The Failed Transition to the Realm of Genuine Freedom
• Works Cited
• Index