Abstract

This article explores the pervasive interpretations of Søren Kierkegaard’s social and political thought, examining how they have prevented a substantive conversation between him and his contemporary, Karl Marx. Describing how they lack political nuance, this article then explores Kierkegaard’s early work, in order to demonstrate that Kierkegaard understands economic life in similar terms to Marx. Moreover, not only does Kierkegaard view economic life as the antithesis of the type of authentic life he aims to cultivate, but, in line with Marx, his vision of authenticity is also similar to Marx’s vision. Finally, this article ends by demonstrating how both Marx and Kierkegaard are working through this criticism in explicitly Hegelian terms, and that their correlative notions of authenticity are likewise indebted to Hegel. In this way, this article begins the long-overdue conversation between Kierkegaard’s and Marx’s respective receptions of Hegel, while demonstrating how social and political thinkers can more fully integrate Kierkegaard’s ethical and spiritual insight into mainstream political thought.