individuals with one another, and the relationship of families and
civil society is the basis for the ethical life. Man cannot lead an
ethical life outside the state. The state is a spiritual organism, and
Hegel sees the state as the “realization of the ethical idea.”
Also, the concept of the Volksgeist and the World Spirit is
important to understanding the concept of the state as a spiritual
organism. The Volksgeist is the National Spirit. It is not a
mystical or theoretical quality; it is the whole of the natural,
technical, economic, moral, and intellectual conditions that
determine the nation’s historical development. The Volksgeist is
the sum total of the state’s essence and personality, and the
essence and personality of the people within it.
The World Spirit is reflected in the concept of ascendant
nations. Since the course of history unfolds according to reason,
the rational idea running its course according to God’s will, the
Idea in the world can be observed. At any given time in history
a nation can be seen as being the dominant force in the world.
Nations rise and fall; yet each time one nation rises, it does so as
a manifestation of the realization of the force of the World Spirit.
And each nation which replaces the previous one is an improve
ment over the last. This process is a part of the continuous march
of history towards the Absolute Idea. The assumption that this
march is ever evolving according to reason is based on Hegel’s
assumption that “God governs the world.”
Hegel’s theory of government is based on two premises—
“the actual is rational, and the rational is actual,” and “only the
whole is real.” Since each part of the state is actual, each part is
also rational, in part. In a sound state absolute rationality is
achieved. The state, then, is not a means to an end, it is the end,
the supreme achievement in human affairs. The state is the
absolute guardian of universal, not individual, interests, and it is
the duty of each individual to be a member of the state. Each
person who obeys the state is free, for he is obeying “the
manifestation of God on earth.”
Hegel divides his government into three distinct yet interre
lated parts: the legislature, which represents the rule of the many;
the executive, which represents the rule of the few; and the
crown, which represents the rule of the one.
The legislature consists of two houses, Estates Assemblies.
The first estate consists of members who are landowners. They
180 Political Theory: The Relationship of Man and the State