July 1, 2024

 Ethical State

 An ethical state (Hegel) is understood as a state that decides what is good and what is evil. The state, therefore, is seen as a god on earth, as the self-consciousness of the nation (for Marxists, of the proletariat). However, this idea does not find support in history, where the state is legitimate only insofar as it applies justice and goodness. If it does not, the people can (indeed, must) rebel. Moreover, between ethics and legality, one must choose the former (the example of Antigone in Greece is famous). This often leads, from the Pharaohs to the Bourbons, to somehow connect power with divinity, as the former would carry out the will of the latter, the source of goodness.