The Ethical Necessity of Politics: Why Kierkegaard Needs Marx

Abstract

When it comes to politics, Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to be either apolitical or politically conservative. This conclusion is largely based on very limited comments that Kierkegaard made in works like The Point of View and in his journals. However, this article questions whether Kierkegaard’s own thoughts on politics should serve as the definitive account of whether his work is itself political. That is, while Kierkegaard himself might have eschewed politics, this article demonstrates that Kierkegaard’s thought is nonetheless deeply political. Therefore, by examining the nature of Kierkegaard’s ethical thought, it is possible to demonstrate that there is in fact an ethical necessity to engage in politics. Furthermore, by analyzing Kierkegaard’s work alongside that of his contemporary post-Hegelian Karl Marx, this article demonstrates that Marx’s political philosophy serves as a necessary and appropriate ethical and philosophical complement for Kierkegaard. Moving past superficial accounts of their opposition, it shows fundamental underlying similarities that allow us to read them in conversation so that we can properly extend Kierkegaard’s work into the world of politics, because together they form the necessary ethical and political whole.