The book has undergone multiple editions and reprints since its initial publication, maintaining its relevance in discussions concerning philosophy, sociology, and political theory.

Marcuse attempts to show that "Hegel's basic concepts are hostile to the tendencies that have led into Fascist theory and practice.

"[1] Marcuse criticizes the thesis, propounded by the sociologist Leonard Hobhouse in The Metaphysical Theory of the State (1918), that Hegel provided an ideological preparation for German authoritarianism.

[4] The psychoanalyst Erich Fromm praised Reason and Revolution, calling it "brilliant and penetrating" and "the most important work which has opened up an understanding of Marx's humanism".

[5] The historian Peter Gay described the book as one of the most important discussions of alienation in the scholarly literature on Hegel and Marx.