ABSTRACT
In Freedom's Right, Axel Honneth defends the thesis that the 'freedom' or 'autonomy' of the individual is the 'only' 'ethical value' that has enduringly shaped the institutional order of modern Western societies. For Honneth, this value can only be realized when humans enjoy what he calls 'social freedom'. History can shed new light on contemporary critical theory. Honneth sees his theory of social freedom as firmly rooted within the Hegelian and Marxian tradition. He bases this view on the claim that G.W.F Hegel and the young Karl Marx are the 'two progenitors' of the very 'concept of social freedom' that is central to his own philosophy. Honneth believes that his theory of social freedom stands in a tradition founded by Hegel and Marx. This assessment follows from the fact that along with Hegel and the young Marx, he understands freedom as 'being at one with oneself in the other'.
