Civil Society : The Critical History of an Idea

Read Chapter One.A sweeping and illuminating analysis of the evolving concept of civil society.Ehrenberg locates understandings of civil society in the context of historically changing relations of state, economy, and community and helps us to understand theambiguities and even contradictions which beriddle the oft-evoked term.-Frances Fox PivenCUNY Graduate CenterEhrenberg's work is a book that anyone studying the third sector shoul dhave on his or her bookshelf.--Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit OrganizationsNo one involved in the current debates over civil society-and there can only be a few serious scholars who are not-will want to miss John Ehrenberg's trenchant and thrill-packed (well, for us theorists anyway) work. A major contribution to the history of political theory by one of the brightest stars in the critical galaxy.-Bertoll OllmanAuthor of Dialectical InvestigationsAn absorbing study of a seminal idea in the history of political theory . . . This is a beautifully written work with an important critical perspective.It makes a genuine scholarly contribution.-Stephen Eric BronnerRutgers UniversityIn the absence of noble public goals, admired leaders, and compelling issues, many warn of a dangerous erosion of civil society. Are they right? What are the roots and implications of their insistent alarm? How can public life be enriched in a period marked by fraying communities, widespread apathy, and unprecedented levels of contempt for politics? How should we be thinking about civil society?Civil Society examines the historical, political, and theoretical evolution of how civil society has been understood for the past two and a half millennia. From Aristotle and the Enlightenment philosophers to Colin Powell's Volunteers for America, Ehrenberg provides an indispensable analysis of the possibilities-and limits-of what this increasingly important idea can offer to contemporary political affairs.Civil Society is the winner of the Michael J. Harrington Award from the Caucus for a New Political Science of APSA for the best book published during 1999.Table of ContentsIntroductionI The Origins of Civil Society1 Civil Society and the Classical HeritageThe Danger of Private InterestThe Mixed PolityCivil Society and the Res Publica2 Civil Society and the Christian CommonwealthPride, Faith, and the StateThe Christian CommonwealthEarly Fractures3 Civil Society and the Transition to ModernityVirtue and PowerCivil Society and the Liberated ConscienceSovereignty, Interest, and Civil SocietyII Civil Society and Modernity4 The Rise of 'Economic Man'Rights, Law, and Protected SpheresThe Moral Foundations of Civil SocietyThe Emergence of Bourgeois Civil Society5 Civil Society and the StateCivil Society and the Ethical CommonwealthThe 'Giant Broom'The 'System of Needs'The Politics of Social Revolution6 Civil Society and Intermediate OrganizationsThe Aristocratic RepublicCivil Society and CommunityThe Customs of Civil SocietyAmerican LessonsIII Civil Society in Contemporary Life7 Civil Society and CommunismTotalitarianismThe 'Self-Limiting' RevolutionThe Limits Are Reached8 Civil Society and CapitalismPluralist FoundationsThe Commodified Public SphereDreams of Renewal9 Civil Society and Democratic Politics

John Ehrenberg is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University.