Abstract

This article starts discussing Axel Honneth's recent attempt to reconnect the theory of justice and the theory of society. It is an attempt that brings back to light the political importance of the "Hegelian Verwirklichung", the reconciliation between concept and object. At the same time, Honneth neglects Hegel's claim that modernity is an epoch dominated by abstract labor. In order to explore the latter it is necessary to take seriously into account Hegel's picture of civil society as something characterized by a "Reflexionsverhältnis". This also paves the way for a reconsideration of Hegel's critique of Social Contract Theory. To this end, Giuseppe Duso, Bruno Karsenti and Jean-François Kervégan's theoretical and hermeneutical perspectives become crucial and therefore deserve to be examined.