In Introduction to the Reading of Hegel （1969）, Alexandre Kojève maintained that America was the country where communism was most advanced; he also predicted that the Soviet Union and America would one day notice that they were heading in the same direction. The purpose of this article is to clarify these assertions. In order to reflect a change in Kojève’s conception of the state after World War II, we need to review what he had in mind when he dealt with “the giving state” under the influence of Carl Schmitt. At first, we will define nomos as argued by Schmitt. Then we will examine Kojève’s reaction to the argument in order to elucidate his theory of the state. We will also deal with the influence of Xenophon and Marcel Mauss on Kojève.
According to Schmitt, the Greek word nomos not only meant the law but etymologically meant taking, sharing, and producing, connotations which have since been forgotten. Of these three, rights concerning taking and producing are important, however, one should also pay attention to sharing of the taken things in order to understand the nomos – here signifying orders. In other words, Schmitt asserts that the nation-state-centric order which used to be maintained by the International Law of the Jus Publicum Europaeum had already been apparent in the etymological meanings of nomos.
According to Kojève, since the appearance of Fordism the contradiction inherent in capitalism has been resolved, thus the need for revolution is obviated. Although Henry Ford was unaware, he was in fact the greatest Marxist reformer. This is how Kojève comes to say that America leads the way to the End of History by means of his seemingly paradoxical idea of Marxist capitalism. In light of this, the reason why he claimed – only half-jesting – that he was a “Marxist of the Right” becomes understandable.
