Poverty, Rabble and Indignation in Hegel’s Civil Society
Journal title RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA
Author/s Giorgio Cesarale
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/1
Language Italian Pages 19 P. 181-199 File size 222 KB
DOI 10.3280/SF2026-001011
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The article analy- ses the relation between poverty, rabble (Pöbel), and (Empörung) indignation in Hegel’s philosophy of right, assessing this decisive reconfiguration of the modern con- cept of indignatio. Unlike earlier traditions, in which indignation arose from the multi- tude’s reaction to sovereign abuse, Hegel locates it within the very texture of civil so- ciety, and attributes it to a structurally produced social figure: the rabble. In fact, the rabble emerges when the modern economic system fails to secure employment, mater- ial subsistence, and spiritual recognition for individuals who are nevertheless entitled to social integration as bearers of rational will. Reconstructing the role of the Polizei, the system of needs, and the division of labor, the article shows how structural unem- ployment and poverty are necessary outcomes of bourgeois society and how poverty shifts into rabble via a subjective transformation, marked by loss of rights, dignity, and recognition. Indignation thus appears as an immanent critique of ethical life. Lastly, the article examines Hegel’s appeal to a right of necessity and it is argued that the rab- ble should be understood as a transitional figure, irreducible both to earlier modern conceptions, and to the later Marxian proletariat, revealing a recurrent tension within modernity itself.
Keywords: civil society, Hegel, indignation, poverty, rabble.
Giorgio Cesarale, Povertà, plebe e indignazione nella società civile hegeliana in "RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA" 1/2026, pp 181-199, DOI: 10.3280/SF2026-001011