Civil Society

Historical Development

Considerations about civil society can be found in political and societal theories since Aristotle. He stated that a citizen is a social being and citizens should organize and be in charge of themselves. The politiké koinonia (civil society) is a community of citizens who are united for the purpose of a virtuous and good life.

The contract theories of the seventeenth century resumed the conception of civil society. The political theory of Thomas Hobbes mainly regards the citizen as the subject of an absolute sovereign. The state and the absolute sovereign ensure safety and order; the citizens are obedient in return. This conveys an apolitical concept of citizenship. The dispositions and interests of the citizens are seen as their private concerns.

John Locke delivered a crucial improvement toward a modern concept of citizenship and civil society as well. The obedience of the citizens to the ruler implicates the duty to secure their fundamental rights (protection of life, freedom, and property) for the state. In doing so, Locke laid the foundation for a liberal argumentation—putting the focus on the significance of private property and the protection of the individual from the state. He regarded the sphere of civil society as one of private, especially economic, interests that should be free of influences of the state. This way, Locke distinctly indicated the limits of legitimate governmental activities. In the eighteenth century, the dimension of the market entered the discussion about civil society. At first, Adam Smith pointed out that the economic citizen is the bearer of the project of a civil society. He saw civil society as a sphere of autonomous economic activities set free from governmental regulations based on the mutual dependencies organized via the market. The coordination of these (economic) activities of the citizens was thought to lead to the common wealth. Because of the invisible coordination of the market, there are no tensions between common wealth and private interests of the individual citizens.

Despite all the differences between Hobbes, Locke, and Smith, they have in common a so-called liberal point of view. The special characteristic of this position is the conviction that there is a sphere of private and commercial interests that is and should be outside the influence of the state.

Montesquieu is considered to be the founding father of an emancipatory—as opposed to the liberal—perception of civil society. He saw the scope of civil society as a third part between citizens and state. In “The Spirit of the Laws,” he refers to the meaning of associations as a place for the citizens' balance of interest. This perspective was resumed and further developed by Adam Ferguson. He saw the consequences of capitalism and its rampant accumulation of capital and goods as a problem that could be solved by a basic “friendly predisposition” of the citizens, which leads them to engage themselves politically and thereby pursue their noneconomic ethical goals.

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