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Article: Civil society in Singapore: popular discourses and concepts.
- Article from:
- SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia
- Article date:
- October 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The character of a civil society is largely dependent on contemporary political conditions, the nature of the state, and the manner of society-state relations, thus infusing the term with a hermeneutic instability that is reflected in the broader literature. For Adam Ferguson and Adam Smith, 18th century British philosopher and economist, respectively, "civil society" was envisaged as a regulatory and socializing force that curbed man's unstable nature in order to protect market practices, property rights, and the flourish of capitalism. Hegel, however, drew clear distinctions between civil society, family, and the state (Ehrenberg 1999). According to Hegel, civil society ...