Carl Schmitt’s ‘Hegel and Marx’
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Carl Schmitt’s radio broadcast ‘Hegel and Marx’, aired on 13 November 1931, and newly translated here, recapitulates the account of Marxism that Schmitt started to develop in the 1920s. Beginning from Schmitt’s early theory of adjudication in Law and Judgement (1912), the concepts of decision, representation and the friend/enemy distinction are analysed, connected, and shown to structure Schmitt’s critique of Marxism, both in the broadcast, and in his other writings during this period. Some concluding remarks are offered on the substantive issues Schmitt’s critique raises for Marx’s political theory.
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Bahne S. “Die deutsche Ideologie” von Marx und Engels. Einige Textergänzungen’ International Review of Social History 1962 7 1 93 104
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Böckenförde Ernst-Wolfgang ‘Der Begriff des Politischen als Schlüssel zum staatsrechtlichen Werk Carl Schmitts’ Recht, Staat, Freiheit 2006 Frankfurt am Main Suhrkamp
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Dotti Jorge E. ‘Schmitt Reads Marx’ Cardozo Law Review 1999–2000 21 5/6 1473 1485
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Duso Giuseppe Paschke Peter Die moderne politische Repräsentation: Entstehung und Krise des Begriffs 2006 Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Hart Herbert Lionel Adolphus Raz Joseph ‘Commands and Authoritative Legal Reasons’ Authority 1990 New York New York University Press
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Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Werke 7: Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts 1986b [1821] Frankfurt am Main Suhrkamp
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Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Werke 8: Enzyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften im Grundrisse 1986c [1830] Frankfurt am Main Suhrkamp
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Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Geraets Theodore F., Suchting Wal. A. & Harris H.S. The Encyclopaedia Logic: Part I of the Encyclopaedia of Philosophical Sciences 1991b [1830] Indianapolis Hackett
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Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Knox T.M. Natural Law: The Scientific Ways of Treating Natural Law, Its Place in Moral Philosophy, and Its Relation to the Positive Sciences of Law 2011 [1802] Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Press
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Duncan Kelly ‘Carl Schmitt’s Political Theory of Representation’ Journal of the History of Ideas 2004 65 1 113 134
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Leibholz Gerhard Das Wesen der Repräsentation und der Gestaltwandel der Demokratie im 20. Jahrhundert 1966 Berlin Walter de Gruyter
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Löwith Karl ‘Der Okkasionelle Dezisionismus von C. Schmitt’ Gesammelte Abhandlungen 1960 [1935] Stuttgart W. Kohlhammer
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Lukács Georg ‘Geschichte und Klassenbewußtsein’ Werke, Volume 2, Frühschriften II 1977 [1923] Darmstadt and Neuwied Luchterhand
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Manin Bernard, Stokes Susan C. & Przeworski Adam Democracy, Accountability, and Representation 1999 Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Marx Karl ‘Der Ehescheidungsgesetzentwurf’ Marx and Engels 1956–1990 1961a [1842] Volume 1
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Marx Karl ‘Kritik der Hegelschen Staatsrechts’ Marx and Engels 1956–1990 1961b [1927] Volume 1
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Marx Karl Das Kapital. Kritik der pölitischen Ökonomie. Dritter Band Marx and Engels 1956–1990 1964 [1894] Volume 25
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Marx Karl ‘Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte’ Marx and Engels 1956–1990 1968 [1932] Volume 40
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Marx Karl Nicolaus Martin Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy 1973a [1953] Harmondsworth Penguin
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Marx Karl Fernbach David ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte’ Surveys from Exile: Political Writings, Volume 2 1973b [1852] Harmondsworth Penguin
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Marx Karl ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts’ Marx 1975c 1975b [1932]
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Marx Karl Livingstone Rodney & Benton Gregor Early Writings 1975c Harmondsworth Penguin
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Marx Karl ‘The Divorce Bill’ Marx/Engels Collected Works, Volume 1, August 1835–March 1843 1976 [1842] London Lawrence and Wishart
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Marx Karl Fernbach David Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume 3 1981 [1894] Harmondsworth Penguin
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Marx Karl Marx-Engels-Werke, Volume 42, Ökonomische Manuskripte 1857/1858 1983 Berlin Dietz
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Marx Karl & Engels Frederick Marx-Engels-Werke, 43 volumes 1956–1990 Berlin Dietz
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Marx Karl & Engels Frederick ‘The German Ideology’ Marx/Engels Collected Works, Volume 5, Works of Marx and Engels, April 1845–April 1847 1976 [1932] London Lawrence and Wishart
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Marx Karl & Engels Frederick ‘Die Deutsche Ideologie’ Marx and Engels 1956–1990 1990 [1932] Volume 3
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Mehring Reinhard Carl Schmitt. Der Begriff des Politischen 2003 Berlin Akademie Verlag
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Meier Heinrich Lomax J. Harvey Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue 1995 Chicago University of Chicago Press
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Müller Christoph Das imperative und freie Mandat. Überlegungen zur Lehre von der Repräsentation des Volkes 1966 Leiden A.W. Sijthoff
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van der Pijl Kees Nomads, Empires, States: Modes of Foreign Relations and Political Economy, Volume 1 2007 London Pluto Press
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Rousseau Jean-Jacques Gourevitch Victor The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings 1997 [1762] Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Runciman David & Vieira Mónica Brito Representation 2008 Cambridge Polity
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Salin Edgar Geschichte der Volkswirtschaftslehre 2007 [1929] Heidelberg Springer
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Saller Richard P. Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family 1994 Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Schefold Christoph Die Rechtsphilosophie des jungen Marx von 1842 1972 Munich C.H. Beck
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Scheuerman William E. Carl Schmitt. The End of Law 1999 Lanham, MD. Rowman and Littlefield
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Schmitt Carl ‘Die Sichtbarkeit der Kirche: Eine scholastische Erwägung’ Summa 1917 2 71 80
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Schmitt Carl Römischer Katholizismus und politische Form 1923 Hellerau Jakob Hegner
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Schmitt Carl ‘Der Begriff des Politischen’ Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik 1927 58 1 1 33
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Schmitt Carl Über die drei Arten des Rechtswissenschaftlichen Denkens 1934 Hamburg Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt
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Schmitt Carl Die Lage der europäischen Rechtswissenschaft 1950 Tübingen Internationale Universitätsverlag
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Schmitt Carl Mohler Armin ‘Die geschichtliche Struktur des heutigen Weltgegensatzes von Ost und West’ Freundschaftliche Begegnungen. Festschrift für Ernst Jünger zum 60. Geburtstag 1955 Frankfurt am Main Vittorio Klostermann
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Schmitt Carl Gesetz und Urteil. Eine Untersuchung zum Problem der Rechtspraxis 1969 [1912] Munich C.H. Beck
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Schmitt Carl Land und Meer 1981 [1942] Cologne Hohenheim
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Schmitt Carl von Medem Eberhard Freiherr Glossarium. Aufzeichnungen der Jahre 1947–1951 1991 Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Die Diktatur. Von den Anfängen des modernen Souveränitätsgedankens bis zum proletarischen Klassenkampf 1994 [1921] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl ‘Diktatur und Belagerungszustand. Eine Staatsrechtliche Studie’ Schmitt 1995c 1995a [1916]
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Schmitt Carl ‘Diktatur’ Schmitt 1995c 1995b [1926]
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Schmitt Carl Maschke Günter Staat, Großraum, Nomos. Arbeiten aus den Jahren 1916 bis 1969 1995c Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Mohler Armin Briefwechsel mit einem seiner Schüler 1995d Berlin Akademie Verlag
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Schmitt Carl Ulmen G.L. Roman Catholicism and Political Form 1996 [1923] Westport, CT Greenwood Press
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Schmitt Carl Draghici Simona Land and Sea 1997 [1942] Washington, DC Plutarch Press
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Schmitt Carl Kennedy Ellen Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy 2000 [1923] Cambridge, MA The MIT Press
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Schmitt Carl Verfassungslehre 2003 [1928] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl ‘Hegel und Marx’ Marx-Engels-Jahrbuch 2004a Berlin Akademie Verlag
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Schmitt Carl Seitzer Jeffrey Legality and Legitimacy 2004b [1932] Durham, NC Duke University Press
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Schmitt Carl Bendersky Joseph W. On the Three Types of Juristic Thought 2004c [1934] Westport, CT Praeger
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Schmitt Carl Ulmen G.L. The Theory of the Partisan: Intermediate Commentary on the Concept of the Political 2004d [1963] Michigan Michigan State University Press
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Schmitt Carl Legalität und Legitimität 2005a [1932] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Schwab George D. Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty 2005b [1922] Chicago University of Chicago Press
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Schmitt Carl Theorie des Partisanen. Zwischenbemerkung zum Begriff des Politischen 2006 [1963] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Schwab George D. Concept of the Political 2007 [1932] Chicago University of Chicago Press
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Schmitt Carl Seitzer Jeffrey Constitutional Theory 2008 [1928] Durham, NC Duke University Press
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Schmitt Carl Der Begriff des Politischen. Text von 1932 mit einem Vorwort und drei Corollarien 2009a [1932] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Politische Theologie. Vier Kapitel zur Lehre von der Souveränität 2009b [1922] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Die geistesgeschichtliche Lage des heutigen Parlamentarismus 2010 [1923] Berlin Duncker & Humblot
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Schmitt Carl Dictatorship 2014 [1921] Cambridge Polity Press
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Schuller Wolfgang Carl Schmitt Tagebücher 1930 bis 1934 2010 Berlin Akademie Verlag
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Sieyès Emmanuel Joseph Sonenscher Michael Political Writings 2003 [1787] Indianapolis Hackett
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Weber Max Roth Guenther & Wittich Claus Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology 1978 Volume 2 Berkeley University of California Press
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Weber Max ‘Die “Objektivität” sozialwissenschaftlicher und sozialpolitischer Erkenntnis’ Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre 1988 [1904] Tübingen J.C.B. Mohr
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Weber Max Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 2005 Frankfurt am Main Zweitausendeins
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Weber Max Bruun Hans Henrik & Whimster Sam ‘The “Objectivity” of Knowledge in Social Science and Social Policy’ Max Weber: Collected Methodological Writings 2012 [1904] London Routledge
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1
Schuller 2010, p. 144. Its first full print publication in German is Schmitt 2004a.
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2
Schuller 2010, p. 143.
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4
Schmitt 2009a, pp. 57–9/Schmitt 2007, pp. 61–3.
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5
Schmitt 2009a, p. 88. All translations from German texts are by James Furner. Double references are first to the original, then a translation, for comparison. Relevant differences are highlighted. Unreferenced quotes are from the broadcast.
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6
Compare Schmitt 1927, p. 23.
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8
Schmitt 2009a, p. 58/Schmitt 2007, p. 63. Schmitt 2007 omits to translate Schmitt’s superlative (‘am stärksten lebendig’).
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9
Hegel 1986c/Hegel 1991b, §§109, 111.
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10
Hegel 1986b/Hegel 1991a, §§243–6. Schmitt describes Marxism as a development of paragraphs §243 and §246 of Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right in Schmitt 1955, p. 165; Schmitt 2006, p. 27/Schmitt 2004d, p. 71; and Schmitt 1981, p. 109 (the Postface omitted from the English translation, Schmitt 1997).
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11
See Schmitt 1969, pp. 19, 49–50; Schmitt 1995a, p. 19; and Schmitt 2003, pp. 47, 127, 141, 253/Schmitt 2008, pp. 99, 171, 183, 280–1.
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12
Löwith 1960, p. 113.
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13
Schmitt 1934, p. 45/Schmitt 2004c, p. 77.
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14
Schmitt 1934, pp. 66–7/Schmitt 2004c, p. 98.
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15
Schmitt 1995d, p. 418; cf. Schmitt 1991, p. 229.
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19
Schmitt 1923, pp. 66–7/Schmitt 1996, p. 32; cf. Schmitt 1917, p. 71. ‘[N]iedrig-’ and ‘hohe-’ (cf. footnote 50) are antonyms in respect of rank.
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20
Schmitt 1969, unpaginated Preface of 1968. No published translation exists.
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21
Schmitt 1969, pp. 8–9.
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22
Schmitt 1969, p. 3.
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23
Schmitt 1969, p. 75.
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24
Schmitt 1969, p. 71. Schmitt adds: ‘another judge (as an empirical type)’ (Schmitt 1969, pp. 41, 71). An ‘empirical type’ is distinct from an ‘ideal type’ (cf. Weber 1988/Weber 2012).
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25
Schmitt 1969, pp. 97–8.
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26
Schmitt 1969, unpaginated Preface of 1912.
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27
Schmitt 1969, p. 110. For an interpretation that emphasises ‘homogeneity’ as the link between Law and Judgement, and Schmitt’s Nazi texts of the 1930s, see Scheuerman 1999, pp. 19–24.
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28
Schmitt 2009b, p. 69/Schmitt 2005b, p. 65.
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31
Hart 1990, p. 104. Practical authority has a ‘peremptory content-independent’ character.
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32
Schmitt 2009b, p. 69/Schmitt 2005b, p. 65.
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33
Schmitt 2009b, p. 60/Schmitt 2005b, p. 55.
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34
Schmitt 2009b, p. 13/Schmitt 2005b, p. 5.
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35
Schmitt 1923, pp. 51–6/Schmitt 1996, pp. 24–7; Schmitt 2003, pp. 204–20/Schmitt 2008, pp. 239–52. Kelly suggests: ‘Schmitt’s concept of representation provides the key with which to understand his densely structured constitutional argumentation’ (Kelly 2004, p. 114). See, also, Duso 2006, pp. 148–99.
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36
Schmitt 2003, p. 209/Schmitt 2008, p. 243. The Schmitt 2008 translation, ‘[t]o represent means to make an invisible being visible and present through a publicly present one’, lends itself to confusion. It translates two different words, first ‘vergegenwärtigen’ and then ‘anwesend-’, as ‘present’. Only the latter contrasts with what is absent (‘abwesend’).
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37
Schmitt 2003, p. 227/Schmitt 2008, p. 258.
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38
Schmitt 2003, p. 214/Schmitt 2008, p. 247.
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39
Manin, Stokes and Przeworski (eds.) 1999, p. 2.
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40
Schmitt 1923, p. 55/Schmitt 1996, p. 26.
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41
Runciman and Vieira 2008, p. 128. Böckenförde claims it is a ‘common and significant misunderstanding’ to think that Schmitt offers a ‘normative theory of politics’ (Böckenförde 2006, p. 345).
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42
Schmitt 2003, p. 207/Schmitt 2008, p. 241.
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43
Müller 1966, p. 1; cf. Schmitt 1923, p. 55/Schmitt 1996, p. 26.
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44
Müller 1966, pp. 222–3; cf. Leibholz 1966, p. 94.
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45
Müller 1966, p. 29.
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46
Leibholz 1966, p. 94; cf. Schmitt 2003, p. 191/Schmitt 2008, p. 227.
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47
Leibholz 1966, p. 173.
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48
Schmitt 2003, p. 212/Schmitt 2008, p. 245. In the above sentence, ‘sovereign’ is used in the conventional sense (not that of Political Theology).
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49
Schmitt 1923, p. 44/Schmitt 1996, p. 21; cf. Schmitt 2003, p. 210/Schmitt 2008, p. 244. There are connections here to Max Weber’s account of the ‘charisma of office’. The name in which state office is held is thought to ‘transcend its present office-holder and . . . cast . . . sanctity [Weihe] upon him’ (Weber 2005, p. 859/Weber 1978, p. 1141; compare Schmitt 1923, pp. 29–30/Schmitt 1996, p. 14).
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50
Schmitt 1923, p. 45/Schmitt 1996, p. 21.
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51
Schmitt 1927, p. 4; cf. Schmitt 2009a, p. 26/Schmitt 2007, p. 27.
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52
Schmitt 1927, p. 5; cf. Schmitt 2009a, p. 35/Schmitt 2007, p. 37.
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53
Schmitt 1927, pp. 3–4; cf. Schmitt 2009a, p. 25/Schmitt 2007, p. 26.
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54
See, for instance, Schmitt 2005a, p. 31/Schmitt 2004b, p. 30.
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55
The broadcast echoes Schmitt 2010, p. 67/Schmitt 2000, p. 55. Dotti suggests Schmitt 2000 is central for Schmitt’s view of Marx (Dotti 1999–2000, p. 1475). But see, also, Schmitt 1923, pp. 27–38, 42–5, 51–60, 73–80/Schmitt 1996, pp. 13–18, 20–1, 24–9, 35–9; Schmitt 1994, pp. 143–5/Schmitt 2014, pp. 278–80; and Schmitt 2009b, pp. 61–9/Schmitt 2005b, pp. 56–65.
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56
Schmitt 1923, p. 52/Schmitt 1996, p. 25.
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57
Schmitt 1923, p. 58/Schmitt 1996, p. 28.
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58
Schmitt 1923, p. 31/Schmitt 1996, p. 15.
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59
Schmitt 1923, p. 42/Schmitt 1996, p. 20.
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60
Schmitt 1923, pp. 37–8, 45/Schmitt 1996, pp. 18, 21.
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61
Schmitt 1923, p. 37/Schmitt 1996, p. 17.
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62
Schmitt 1994, pp. 134, 202/Schmitt 2014, pp. 119, 179; Schmitt 1995b, p. 35.
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63
Schmitt 1923, pp. 35–6/Schmitt 1996, p. 17.
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64
Schmitt 2010, p. 65/Schmitt 2000, p. 53.
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65
Schmitt 2009a, p. 86/Schmitt 2007, p. 94. ‘Splendorous’ translates ‘glanzvoll-’. Cf. Roman Catholicism and Political Form: ‘[t]he claim to prestige and honour rests, in an eminent sense, on the idea of representation. It generates the eternal opposition between justice and prestigious splendour [ruhmvollem Glanz]’ (Schmitt 1923, p. 66/Schmitt 1996, p. 31). In Schmitt 1996, ‘ruhmvollem Glanz’ is mistranslated as ‘beauty’.
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66
Schmitt 2010, p. 80/Schmitt 2000, p. 68.
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67
Marx 1961a, p. 149/Marx 1976, p. 308.
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68
Schefold 1972, pp. 37–8.
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69
Sieyès 2003, p. 138.
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70
Sieyès 2003, p. 137.
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71
Schmitt 1994, p. 140/Schmitt 2014, p. 124; cf. Schmitt’s account of democratic legitimacy in Constitutional Theory (Schmitt 2003, pp. 87–91/Schmitt 2008, pp. 136–8).
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72
Marx 1964, p. 784/Marx 1981, p. 911.
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74
Bahne 1962, p. 100/Marx 1976, p. 200. This passage of text does not appear in the Marx-Engels-Werke edition of The German Ideology. The Marx 1976 translation mistranslates ‘Repräsentation’ as ‘representative system’. A ‘Repräsentativsystem’ is a system in which the people is represented in an elected assembly. ‘Repräsentation’ is a broader phenomenon (cf. Leibholz 1966, pp. 48, 58, 87).
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75
Marx 1990, p. 340/Marx 1976, p. 357. The Marx 1976 translation mistranslates ‘bürgerliche Gesellschaft’ as ‘civil society’ (contrary to its correct use of ‘bourgeois society’ on p. 200), and mistranslates ‘moralische Person’ as ‘juridical person’; cf. Rousseau: ‘the moral person [la personne morale] that constitutes the state’ (Rousseau 1997, p. 53). Its rendering of ‘schon um der Teilung der Arbeit willen’ as ‘if only because of the division of labour’ is also unfortunate. Schon indicates a sufficient reason, i.e. a division of labour is a sufficient reason to delegate. ‘If only because’ can make light of a reason, or indicate a necessary and sufficient condition, neither of which is accurate.
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76
Marx 1961b, p. 329/Marx 1975a, p. 194. The Marx 1975a rendering, ‘they have a formal authorization but as soon as this becomes real they cease to be authorized’, is inaccurate, and misleading. A person can be ‘authorized’ with discretionary powers. The terms ‘formally commissioned’ and ‘commissaries’ better capture the idea of designated persons who are at liberty when they discuss and vote.
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78
Marx 1961b, p. 270/Marx 1975a, p. 131.
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79
Müller 1966, p. 41.
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80
Schmitt 1923, p. 66/Schmitt 1996, p. 31; see footnote 65.
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81
Cf. Marx 1961b, p. 329/Marx 1975a, p. 194; and Marx 1960, p. 128/Marx 1973b, p. 162.
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82
Marx 1968, p. 570/Marx 1975b, p. 381.
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83
Rousseau 1997, pp. 46–7.
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84
Rousseau 1997, p. 46; cf. p. 76.
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85
Marx 1983, p. 386/Marx 1973a, p. 474.
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86
van der Pijl 2007, p. vi (italics omitted).
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Carl Schmitt’s ‘Hegel and Marx’
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by James Furner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Carl Schmitt’s radio broadcast ‘Hegel and Marx’, aired on 13 November 1931, and newly translated here, recapitulates the account of Marxism that Schmitt started to develop in the 1920s. Beginning from Schmitt’s early theory of adjudication in Law and Judgement (1912), the concepts of decision, representation and the friend/enemy distinction are analysed, connected, and shown to structure Schmitt’s critique of Marxism, both in the broadcast, and in his other writings during this period. Some concluding remarks are offered on the substantive issues Schmitt’s critique raises for Marx’s political theory.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 2526 | 321 | 26 |
| Full Text Views | 422 | 15 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 294 | 37 | 1 |
