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Theory of civil society –
roots and interconnections

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02/2004		  

[ Informative insights ]

Theory of civil society – roots and interconnections

The Chambers/Kymlicka anthology traces the intellectual roots of the concept of civil society and examines their links with economic liberalism, natural law, feminism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Confucianism. The thread of the works is the question of whether the civil society concept has the potential to deliver interculturally accepted norms for a pluralistic, tolerant coexistence of the world’s cultures under the conditions of globalisation – a counter-position to Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations.

The starting point is Locke's normative concept of civil society. In the tradition of the Enlightenment, he interprets the emergence of civil society as the human transformation from the feudal “natural state” into the civilised social contract. Upon this basis, the authors seek to track down, from an ethical or moral-theological perspective, elements of tolerance and plurality in the systems of thought of the world religions. The authors struck gold in each case. For instance, using the example of the politically charged subject of Islam, Hasan Hanafi points out that there are also currents in Islam’s intellectual history that are compatible with the norms of tolerance and plurality.

Michael Waltzer sees the limits of the normative concept of civil society where on the basis of existing socio-economic inequalities the civil society itself contributes to their reproduction – for example when the middle class reaffirms its own privileges. Co-editor Chambers also dissociates herself from the civil society concept to the extent that she believes in a more sociological oriented approach (like Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci did). However, she misses the opportunity to take a critical look at the discourse of her fellow authors, which predominantly is marked strongly by communitarism. Chambers cites the work of Habermas, who discussed possible bases of a normative universal ethics in the 1990s.

In part, the Chambers/Kymlicka book trails considerably behind the current level of discussion. However, the articles are largely informative and give insights into the current mix of socio-political discourses in the USA.

Peter Wahl





Simone Chambers, Will Kymlicka (Eds.): Alternative Conceptions of Civil Society. Princeton, Oxford, Princeton University Press 2002, 237 pp., $ 19.95, ISBN 0-691-08796-2