Οἱ δύο ἥλιοι καὶ ἡ κατάργηση τῆς ἐργασίας. Ὁ Ἕγελος, ὁ Μὰρξ καὶ ἡ προστασία τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀπὸ τὴν οἰκονομικὴ ἀνισότητα.

Οἱ φιλελεύθεροι (μὲ τὴν εὐρωπαϊκὴ ἔννοια τοῦ ὅρου) καὶ οἱ σοσιαλιστὲς πιστεύουν ὅτι στὴν οἰκονομικὴ δραστηριότητα ἐκφράζεται ἡ οὐσία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Γι’ αὐτὸ πιστεύουν ὅτι ἡ πιὸ παραγωγικὴ τάξη πρέπει νὰ ἀναλάβει καὶ τὴν πολιτικὴ καθοδήγηση (κι ἂς διαφωνοῦν γιὰ τὴν ταυτότητά της). Γι’ αὐτὸ τελικὰ καὶ οἱ δύο θέλουν νὰ προστατέψουν τὴν οἰκονομικὴ σφαίρα ἀπὸ τὴν πολιτικὴ (ὄχι μόνον οἱ φιλελεύθεροι). Ἡ ἀντίθετη παράδοση συζητᾶ σὲ διαφορετικὴ βάση. Ὁ Ἕγελος θεωρεῖ (ὅπως ἀργότερα καὶ ἡ Ἄρεντ) ὅτι στὴν πολιτικὴ ἐλευθερία ἐκφράζεται ἡ οὐσία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ γι’ αὐτὸ θέλει νὰ προστατευτεῖ ἡ πολιτικὴ σφαίρα ἀπὸ τὴν οἰκονομική. Δὲν πιστεύει ὅτι ἡ ἱστορία τελείωσε. Ἄλλος ἥλιος «ἀνατέλλει» τὸ 1806 καὶ ἄλλος «δύει» τὸ 1821. Ὑπάρχουν δύο ἥλιοι. Ὁ Ἕγελος πιστεύει ὅτι ἕνας νέος κόσμος γεννιέται, παρ’ ὅλο ποὺ ἐμεῖς διαθέτουμε ἀκόμα κυρίως ἔννοιες τοῦ παλαιοῦ γιὰ νὰ τὸν περιγράψουμε. Στὸν κόσμο ποὺ μόλις ἀνατέλλει θὰ πραγματωθεῖ ἡ «ἔννοια τοῦ δικαίου» μὲ τὴν ὑπαγωγὴ τῆς οἰκονομίας στὴν πολιτική. Ὁ Μὰρξ φαίνεται νὰ ἀσπάζεται τὸ πρῶτο πλαίσιο σκέψης, ἀλλὰ στὴν πραγματικότητα ἀσπάζεται τὸ δεύτερο. Ἀλλιῶς δὲν θὰ περίμενε νὰ «καταργηθεῖ» ἡ ἐργασία.

Liberals (in the European sense of the word) and socialists think that the essence of man lies in his economic activity. This is why political affairs should be, according to them, under the control of the most productive class (though they don’t agree on the identity of this class). This is why the protection of the economic sphere from the political one is part of their common agenda (not only of the liberal agenda). The opposite tradition discusses on a different basis. For Hegel (and later for Arendt) the essence of man lies in his political freedom and this is why he thinks the political sphere should be protected against the economic one. He doesn’t believe that history is finished. The sun that «came up» in 1806 is not the same one that «goes down» in 1821. There are two suns. Hegel believes a new world is coming, though most of the concepts we can use for describing it belong to the old one. In the now dawning world the «concept of right» will be realized thanks to the subordination of the economic to the political sphere. Marx seems to agree with the first conceptual framework, but in reality he agrees with the second one. Otherwise, he would not be expecting the «abolition» of labour.