The Idea of Civil Society

The Idea of Civil Society

by Adam B. Seligman
ISBN-10:
0691010811
ISBN-13:
9780691010816
Pub. Date:
07/23/1995
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
ISBN-10:
0691010811
ISBN-13:
9780691010816
Pub. Date:
07/23/1995
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
The Idea of Civil Society

The Idea of Civil Society

by Adam B. Seligman

Paperback

$58.0 Current price is , Original price is $58.0. You
$58.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores
  • SHIP THIS ITEM

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Please check back later for updated availability.


Overview

As the countries of East-Central Europe struggle to create liberal democracy and the United States and other Western nations attempt to rediscover their own tarnished civil institutions, Adam Seligman identifies the neglect of the idea of "civil society" as a central concern common to both cultures today. Two centuries after its origins in the Enlightenment, the idea of civil society is being revived to provide an answer to the question of how individuals can pursue their own interests while preserving the greater good of society and, similarly, how society can advance the interests of the individuals who comprise it. However, as Seligman shows, the erosion of the very moral beliefs and philosophical assumptions upon which the idea of civil society was founded makes its revival much more difficult than is generally recognized.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691010816
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 07/23/1995
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Adam B. Seligman is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction 1

1 The Modern Idea of Civil Society 15

2 The Sources of Civil Society: Reason and the Individual 59

3 Civil Society, Citizenship, and the Representation of Society 101

4 Jerusalem, Budapest, Los Angeles: In Search of Civil Society 145

Concluding Remarks on Civil Society 199

Notes 207

Index 235


What People are Saying About This

Hall

Seligman argues his case in an attractively open manner and with great range, both in terms of ideas and institutions. His is the best book on the subject at the moment: lucid, high-powered, convincing, and approachable.
John A. Hall, McGill University

Eisenstadt

A most exciting, original, and well documented presentation of the idea of civil society in the Western—in the broadest sense of the word, including Eastern Europe—historical experience and political tradition.
S. N. Eisenstadt, The Hoover Institute and Hebrew University

From the Publisher

"Seligman argues his case in an attractively open manner and with great range, both in terms of ideas and institutions. His is the best book on the subject at the moment: lucid, high-powered, convincing, and approachable."—John A. Hall, McGill University

"A most exciting, original, and well documented presentation of the idea of civil society in the Western—in the broadest sense of the word, including Eastern Europe—historical experience and political tradition."—S. N. Eisenstadt, The Hoover Institute and Hebrew University

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews