The period leading up to the Revolutions of 1848 is a seminal moment in the history of political thought, demarcating the ideological currents and defining the problems of freedom and social cohesion, which are among the key issues of modern politics. This anthology offers new research on Hegel's followers in the 1830s and 1840s. Including essays by well-known philosophers, political scientists, and historians from Europe and North America, it pays special attention to questions of state power, the economy, poverty, and labor, as well as to a range of ideas about freedom. The book examines the political and social thought of Edouard Gans, Ludwig Feuerbach, Max Stirner, Bruno and Edgar Bauer, the young Engels, and Marx.