Civil Society and the State: Connections and Interjections

Theoretically, the paper discusses the meaning of the state and its association with civil society. It highlights the origin and development of civil society in the Western intellectual discourse. Does civil society emerge from reason? In comparison to the state, how may civil society be understood? Can it be understood through importance of the state? Are state and civil society dependent categories or are autonomous to each other? Does civil society represent as a political category? The paper discusses the idea of civil society given by Hegel, Gramsci and Adam Ferguson. It also discusses how Ferguson’s idea of civil society is relevant in contemporary times. Ferguson’s idea of civil society is significant because it contributed a different set up meanings from other early modern and modern political philosophers. The paper also narrates Hegel’s idea of civil society and compares it with Ferguson.