Kumar, Krishan - Bryant, Christopher G.A.
Civil Society: An Inquiry into the Usefulness of an Historical Term
«Traces the history of the concept of civil society (CS) & its application to current conditions in the West & in Eastern Europe. The most prevalent conceptualization of CS today is that of Antonio Gramsci, which emphasizes expanding freedom & contracting political society - government rule through consent of the governed rather than coercion from the state. It is argued that such a conceptualization may have little usefulness regarding conditions in the West & in Eastern Europe where establishment of a public life itself takes precedence over establishment of CS. It is concluded that the theoretical ground covered by the concept may be more adequately covered by other, more familiar concepts. In "Social Self-Organisation, Civility and Sociology: A Comment on Kumar's 'Civil Society'" by Christopher G. A. Bryant suggests that historical decontextualization of the concept of CS is not a sociological practice, though it makes useful distinctions between part & present conceptions of CS. The usefulness of the sociological variant of CS is too readily dismissed.».
| Language | eng |
| Names |
[author] Kumar, Krishan [author] Bryant, Christopher G.A. |
| Subjects |
Società Civile
Civil society
|
