Hegel in Italy (1922-1931). The Dispute on the Ethical State

The chapter discusses the flourishing of the Hegelian thought in Italy, focusing on the debate about the 'ethical State' in the 1920s, which concerned not only the interpretation of Hegelian philosophy, but also crucial decisions in Italian politics. Giovanni Gentile used the Hegelian political philosophy to argue for a 'substantive' understanding of society and an 'ethical' understanding of the state, whereas Benedetto Croce defended a liberal and pluralistic understanding of freedom, building mainly on Hegel's account of 'civil society' and emphasizing the freedom of conscience. The work points out the split between an Hegelian reading which emphasizes the significance of political community, and one that focuses on individual freedom and the moral conscience. This split appears as a distinctive feature of Italian Hegelianism. Accordingly, Gentile remains the main thinker from the perspective of the Italian historical Hegelian tradition; Croce's wider, more liberal Hegelianism better represents the spirit of Europe's philosophical inheritance.