Die Zivilgesellschaft ohne den Staat ist blind, der Staat ohne die Zivilgesellschaft ist leer

Abstrakt This contribution places Hegel’s groundbreaking differentiation between civil society and the political state in Elements of the Philosophy of Right into the systematic context of his politico-philosophical thought and into the historical context of his intellectual biography between revolution and restoration. Particular attention is paid to the innovative conception of a specifically modern form of civico-political ethos (“Sittlichkeit”, ethical life) and the intricate interlacing of state and society by means of a differential conception of large civico-political groupings (“Stände”, estates). The modern polity portrayed by Hegel proves to be, by and large, our own.