Abstract

The essay focuses on the Hegelian work’s anthropology as it emerges from the pages of the Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Shedding light on the link between the will-based theory of action and the system of needs, the essay shows that the genealogy of modern ethics is also a genealogy of the subject. The articulation of society is primarily the result of the organisation of work; however, to correctly understand its meaning it is necessary to investigate both its economic and civic dimensions. In his work, Hegel highlighted the web that connects subjectivity and sovereignty, Bildung and labour, identifying conceptual resources which might be still relevant today in the search for potential antidotes to both anti-sovereign depoliticisation and individuals’ nihilistic isolation.