Work, Bad Infinity and Habit: A Hegelian Approach to Sustainability and Freedom

Abstract What can a Hegelian perspective contribute to addressing the ecological crisis? This paper argues that, for Hegel, a transformative yet sustainable relation with nature is a requirement for a free form of life. Drawing on both the Phenomenology of Spirit and the Philosophy of Right , it contends that Hegel’s notions of work, bad infinity and habit help us understand how societies become entrenched in unsustainable practices. At the same time, by pointing to the notion of limit, these concepts illuminate what an alternative form of life could look like. Modern subjective and objective structures that resemble a ‘bad infinity’—in the sense of an imperative of endless wealth accumulation—come at the cost of human and non-human nature. To respond to this, work must be reoriented toward social needs, mutual recognition and cooperation. However, achieving this vision requires more than individual moral commitments; it demands the transformations of sedimented habits, socio-economic relationships and their material expressions.