Freedom's Right

In Freedom's Right, Axel Honneth advances a theory of justice grounded in social freedom, drawing on Hegel's Philosophy of Right to examine how spheres like personal relationships, the market economy, and democratic politics realize aspects of individual autonomy.

He distinguishes negative freedom (absence of interference), reflexive freedom (self-determination through moral norms), and social freedom (realized in institutional contexts), arguing that modern justice emerges from normative integration in these social practices.

Honneth uses historical and sociological analysis to re-found justice norms, emphasizing recognition struggles and the embedding of markets in democratic ethical life.