How did G.W.F. Hegel influence communitarian thinking?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel significantly influenced modern communitarian thought by providing a philosophical framework that challenges the liberal emphasis on the atomized individual. Academic communitarians draw upon Hegel to argue that individual identity is socially constituted and that the community cannot be a normatively neutral realm.12

Key aspects of Hegel’s influence include:

• Socially Embedded Self: Hegel argued that human nature is shaped by the society in which one lives. Communitarians utilize this to critique liberal theories, such as those of John Rawls, asserting that individuals cannot be understood in abstraction from their social, historical, and cultural contexts.1
• Substantial Ethical Life (Sittlichkeit): Hegel emphasized the importance of habit, custom, and tradition, which he termed Sittlichkeit. Communitarians use this concept to argue that a society requires a shared conception of the good to settle conflicts of value and provide a normative foundation for common ground.12
• Organic Community: In The Philosophy of Right, Hegel proposed an organic community where members perceive their identity as part of the whole, reconciling individual conscience with communal life.34