Romanticism and Politics: from Heinrich Heine to Carl Schmitt – and Back Again

Abstract

After a reference to the debate concerning the concept of Romanticism (Lovejoy vs Wellek), the article briefly evokes certain key stances of English and French literary Romanticism. It then points to the distinguishing features of German Romanticism, namely the enlargement of the doctrine into an integral metaphysics with the concept of the “organic state” at its core (A. Muller). The critique of political Romanticism by two revolutionary democrats (H. Heine and A. Ruge) is then presented. The article closes with a critique of C. Schmitt’s interpretation of political Romanticism.