Walking on the Far Left

Hegel (left) and Marx (Right) Dialectical materialism is a philosophical and naturalistic view on the distribution of material wealth amongst the people and the physiognomy of the idealised society in which the cultural and economic capital for society is distributed with egalitarian and equitable principles directly in mind so as to allow for economic productivity, capitalist gains and personal wellbeing to all function mutually exclusively and in direct support of each other (something that is rarely observed in many other economic theories. This post sets out to observe this theory in greater depth and compare and contrast the naturalist and idealistic perspective of Hegel on this matter with Marx's more dogmatic approach to the conflicting and yet effective coexistence of the major components of this theory in facilitating social and economic growth and development within a society which has in both past and present times been ruled by capitalist principles. Hegel, according to...

"A school of thought in contemporary political philosophy that treats equality as the chief value of a just political system" This is how the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy defines an egalitarian system, essentially considering equality as the core priority for the successful functioning of a just society. While on first observations this principle doesn't seem vastly different to some of the core ideals advocated within Marxist and socialist doctrines (i.e. in relation to equality in distribution of wealth, land and opportunities, as well as the view meritocracy and meaningful work being the main reason for greater status being awarded to someone), this principle is often far from left wing in practise. This begs the questions: can an individual possessing great wealth (yet not showing any inclination to distribute it amongst others) still be considered as an egalitarian, and why do capitalists in particular like the egalitarian school of thought? Linking back to t...