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The Problem of Poverty and the Rabble: Against the Neo-Marxist Critique of Hegel

Several commentators on the Philosophy of Right argue that Hegel leaves the problem of the poor unsolved.1 Some contemporary neo-Marxists also argue that not only does Hegel not have a solution to the problem of poverty, but that in Hegel’s state those who are poor necessarily become a rabble of disadvantaged and alienated citizens.2 These thinkers claim that it is at this point of the problem of the poor rabble that one must go beyond Hegel and appreciate Marx’s continual relevance in contemporary attempts to properly respond to social and economic disparities.3 If Hegel has no real solution to this problem, then this does appear to be a powerful objection to his conception of the state. My thesis in this essay is: the neo-Marxist critique of Hegel’s state on the grounds that it has no legitimate solution to the problem of the poor rabble is mistaken. More specifically, I want to argue that Hegel’s concept of the corporation, when properly understood, provides the centerpiece for a response to such contemporary critiques. I will begin by briefly giving an overview of the arguments against Hegel. Then, I will look at Hegel’s concept of the corporation and how it relates to the problem of poverty and the rabble. Finally, I will give what I see to be Hegel’s primary solutions to the problem of the rabble, which I think center around the nature of the corporation.