Civil society denotes the sphere of voluntary association, commerce, and public life that stands apart from the family, the market narrowly defined, and the state. Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767) gave the term its currency in English political thought, treating conflict and commercial competition as forces that, properly channeled, advance civilization. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820) gave the concept its modern structure, positioning civil society (burgerliche Gesellschaft) as an intermediate ethical sphere between the family and the state, organized around the system of needs, market relations, and legally regulated work. Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835 to 1840) supplied the concept's most influential empirical account, describing Americans' constant recourse to voluntary associations as the master skill sustaining democratic life.
Facts
Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Founding ContextSourced to the subject's own accountEntered political vocabulary through Adam Ferguson's 1767 An Essay on the History of Civil Society, was given its modern structure by Hegel's 1820 Elements of the Philosophy of Right, and received its most influential empirical treatment in Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835 to 1840). 1 Connections
Advocated By
Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835 to 1840) supplied the concept's most influential empirical account, describing Americans' constant recourse to voluntary associations as democracy's master skill.
Source Alexis de Tocqueville (New World Encyclopedia)
Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820) gave civil society its modern structure as the ethical sphere of needs, market relations, and legally regulated work between the family and the state.
Source Hegel's Social and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Thom Brooks
Founded By
Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767) gave the term civil society its currency in English political thought.
Source Adam Ferguson (Encyclopedia.com)
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Sources
1. Adam Ferguson (Encyclopedia.com)
Hegel's Social and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Thom Brooks, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy8. Civil society
Whereas the Family is ideally a relation of unity from a natural law for each other, this gives way to the pursuit of the particular individual within the system of needs.
- Advocated By: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
View the Source Alexis de Tocqueville (New World Encyclopedia)
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