Civil society and civility in twentieth-century theorising

Abstract

This essay explores the roots, significance and meaning of various concepts of civil society and civility in both sociology and moral philosophy from a comparative perspective. It identifies liberalism, pragmatism, communitarianism and critical theory as key approaches that implicitly or explicitly highlight the norms and practices of civility as prerequisites for the integration of modern societies and the peaceful co-existence of nation-states and cultures across the globe. A common denominator of these theories is that social integration – in contrast to system integration – in modern societies depends on a set of elementary values that can be subsumed, in part, to the concept of civility. Special attention is paid to the values of self-control, compassion, tolerance, justice and recognition of the other. Finally, the essay argues for a paradigmatic shift from a structure-based concept of civil society to an action-based concept that rests on the principle of recognition of the other and is not restricted to a specific societal sphere.