Ethical Plight Bypassing "Private Society"

The reason why"Chiristian issue"could be a significant aspect in the inheritedrelation between Hegel and Marx's thoughts is decided by the special relation betweenChristianity and western civilization. According to Hegel's view, modern society ofwest is"private society"at heart, while Christianity is the first critic countered thissocial formation. It recognizes that private"self-concern"is a kind of radical"evil"and tries to overcome the crime and penalty caused by private consciousness to letpeople go back to the ethical life of"utmost good"("Realm of the Holy Ghost")through the principles that"the Holy Ghost leads social community to recognize thetruth that lies in it forever". At this point, Christianity and modern political philosophyhave reached the same goal by different means, and both of them take the regulation ofconflict between particularity and universality, as well as private interests and publicgood for their basic task. However, modern political philosophy does not notice thispoint initially which make it back fall into the standing of private consciousnessopposed by Christianity incessantly when challenging Christian authority.Hegel, a modern philosopher, is one of the minorities who can really comprehendthe social theory of Christianity. He believes that only through a sort of universialethical life can human dispense from the misfortune and slavery being suffered inprivate state, and become the liberal people again. Nevertheless, Hegel alsorecognizes Christianity does not realize its ideal, since it does not understand themortal life of people that it only puts forward abstract requisition, leaving the realacting people without true universial restriction. Hegel then indicates that the ethicalideal of Christianity must be realized with the help of universal human relation with each other established in the motal life, making private consciousness and action getthe true ethical standard. Hegel asserts that modern state derived from civil society hasaccomplished it in real aspect, and his speculative philosophy which teaches peoplethe true interests of reason in order to unify invidual self-cousciousness and universalwill of state ultimately is exactly complete comprehension of this real ethicalachievement. Hegel believes the ethical ideal of Christianity will get real life under the"guide"of"speculative logic", the new Holy Gost, in this way.However, in Marx's view, Hegel's sheme of reconstructing"universial ethic"trying to found the consciousness of ethical state on"logical thinking"is just modernreproduction of Christian political order, namely"spirit governs the world"rather thaneasing the plight of Christianity even though"logical thinking"attains completeethical consciousness which may be deviated from facts also. What is much moreimportant is that Marx finds the"universal ethical relation"of people approved byHegel is not beyond the scope of"civil society"and political economics in earnest.The true identity of"speculative logic", the modern"Holy Ghost", is just"capitalghost"which is the general source of slavery and contrary instead of promoting theethical unity of various social stratums. Accordingly, Marx suggests that only on thestanding of self-criticism of the"civil society"(capitalistic society) can people reallyfind the real"ethical relation"which is the universial relation of socializedproductivity and producer being as the opposite of modern capitalism. Such real"ethical relation"has revolutionary nature in itself, namely people will finally destroythe relation of human exploitation and slavery covered by"speculative philosophy"when they cognize their mission of constructing universial production and life,making human conduct the metabolism between man and nature under"the conditionof human nature that is utmost worthy and appropriate"and develop their naturalendowment in all free fields, like science and art, as well as the most sincere ties of compatriot fully. Marx believes the illusory aspect of Christianity and Hegel's"ethicalideal"will be dispelled by the real movement of modern society, namely"self-criticism".