What Is Civil Society? Definition, History & Philosophy

Definition and Scope

Civil society is the realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self-generating, and autonomous from the state. It encompasses a vast array of associations, organizations, and networks: charities, religious institutions, professional associations, trade unions, social movements, advocacy groups, community organizations, and the media. Civil society is distinct from both the state (the sphere of government and political authority) and the market (the sphere of economic exchange).

Philosophically, civil society is understood as a crucial arena for the formation of public opinion, the cultivation of civic virtue, and the exercise of democratic citizenship. It is the space in which citizens learn to cooperate, deliberate, and hold power accountable.

Locke's Civil Society and the State of Nature

John Locke drew a fundamental distinction between the state of nature and civil society. In the state of nature, individuals are free and equal but lack security for their rights. They enter civil society by consenting to establish a government that will protect their natural rights. Locke's conception of civil society is fundamentally political: it is the condition of living under a common authority established by consent.

Tocqueville's Associational Life

Alexis de Tocqueville provided the most influential analysis of the role of civil society in democratic governance. In Democracy in America, Tocqueville argued that the health of American democracy depended on the vibrant associational life of its citizens. Americans, he observed, formed associations for every purpose -- political, religious, moral, and commercial. These associations taught citizens the habits of cooperation, self-governance, and civic responsibility.

Ferguson's Commercial Society

Adam Ferguson, a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, developed a distinctive account of civil society as a commercial society. In An Essay on the History of Civil Society, Ferguson argued that the development of commerce and the division of labor transformed social relationships and created new forms of interdependence. Ferguson's account highlights the economic dimensions of civil society.

Smith's Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments provides a foundation for understanding civil society in terms of the moral relationships that bind individuals together. Smith argued that human beings are naturally social and that moral sentiments -- sympathy, approval, disapproval -- arise from our interactions with others. Civil society, in Smith's view, is sustained by these moral relationships.

Gramsci's Hegemony

Antonio Gramsci transformed the Marxist analysis of civil society. For Gramsci, civil society is the arena in which the ruling class exercises hegemony -- the cultural, moral, and intellectual leadership that secures the consent of the governed. The struggle for social change, in Gramsci's view, must be waged in civil society as much as in the political sphere. Counter-hegemonic movements must challenge the dominant ideas and values that sustain the existing order.

Habermas's Public Sphere

Jurgen Habermas developed the concept of the public sphere as a central component of democratic civil society. The public sphere is the arena in which citizens come together to discuss matters of common concern, form public opinion, and hold the state accountable. In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas traced the historical emergence of the bourgeois public sphere and its subsequent decline under the pressures of commercialization and state intervention.

Dewey's Democratic Community

John Dewey offered a pragmatic account of civil society as the foundation of democratic life. For Dewey, democracy is not merely a set of political institutions but a way of life that depends on the active participation of citizens in the associations and communities that shape their lives. Civil society is the school of democracy, where citizens learn to deliberate, cooperate, and solve problems together.

Contemporary Significance

Civil society remains a vital concept for understanding democratic governance. A vibrant civil society provides channels for citizen participation, checks on state power, and resources for collective action. The decline of associational life, documented by Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, raises concerns about the health of contemporary democracy.

Civil society is the space in which we learn to be citizens. Its protection and renewal are essential for democratic vitality.