20 Civil Society and the State Simone Chambers Jeffrey Kopstein What is civil society? Today almost everyone agrees that civil society refers to uncoerced associational life distinct from the family and institutions of the state. Civil society is also often thought to be distinct from the economy. Where to draw the line, however, is a matter of some dispute. Some thinkers, particularly liberals and especially libertarians (Walzer 2002; Lomasky 2002) include the economy in civil society. Others, especially but not exclusively those on the left, exclude the economy (Cohen and Arato 1992; Keane 1998). Still others include economic relations only to the extent that they are folded into associational life, so for example, professional associations and trade unions might be included but GE or Microsoft are not (Post and Rosenblum 2002). Despite differences in definitional boundaries, contemporary interest in civil society focuses predominantly on associational life rather than market or exchange relations. Few theorists of civil society, even libertarians, are interested in studying GE or Microsoft as loci of uncoerced civil activity. This represents a significant shift from classical theories of civil society found in the work of Ferguson, Smith, or Hegel for example (Ferguson 1995; Smith 1976; Hegel 1991). For both classical and contemporary theorists, civil society end p.363 is understood as a sphere distinct from, yet in a particular relationship with, the state. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, it was the hard won freedom of the economic sphere vis-à-vis the state that naturally begged to be studied, analyzed, investigated, and criticized. Today it is not so much economic freedom that interests theorists of civil society (although such freedom is often presupposed); rather, it is the power and role of associational freedom vis-à-vis the state that, for reasons we touch on below, begs to be studied, analyzed, investigated, and criticized. What sort of associations are we talking about? The kinds of associations that scholars concentrate on—whether they are choral societies, NGOs, or social movements—reflect different understandings of the relation of civil society to the state. In what follows we take up six such relations in order to illustrate the range of contemporary debate surrounding civil society: These six perspectives on society/state relations are not mutually exclusive nor do they necessarily compete with each other. As will become clear, it is possible to hold to a number of these views at the same time. What they do represent are different ways of answering the question: “what is important or interesting in the relationship between civil society and the state?” In each case we identify the empirical questions that are correlative to the theoretical articulation of this relationship. 1 Civil Society apart from the State: Freedom of Association Civil society is a sphere apart from the state. It is a sphere in which individuals come together and form groups, pursue common enterprises, share interests, communicate over important and sometimes not so important matters. end p.364 Churches, bowling leagues, service associations, chess clubs, and public interest groups are part of civil society. Legislatures, the army, police, government administration, and courts are not (Kymlicka 2002). In thinking of civil society as apart from the state three features stand out: the voluntary nature of participation; the plural quality of activities, and the negative character of civil society's boundaries. Civil society is not just characterized by membership; it is characterized by voluntary membership. Joining a church, attending a PTA meeting, donating money to flood relief, forming a book club—these are things we choose to do; they are not mandated by law. In contrast, we are born into a state and governed by coercive laws. Although exit is sometimes an option, it is more often an option in the meaningless sense that jumping out of a ship at sea is an option (Hume 1972, 363). Of course we can also think of ourselves being born into churches that levy high costs for exit and some of us do in fact jump ship and hand in our passports. From a sociological point of view the voluntary/non-voluntary distinction can be tricky. But as a legal matter, the distinction is somewhat easier to maintain: on the one hand, while living within a state, with very few exceptions, we may not opt out of legitimately enacted laws; on the other hand, associations may not use coercion and force to retain members. The second characteristic of civil society is pluralism. While the state is burdened with the job of pursuing collective ends and public 1. civil society apart from the state; 2. civil society against the state; 3. civil society in support of the state; 4. civil society in dialogue with the state; 5. civil society in partnership with the state; 6. civil society beyond the state. PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2009 - 2011. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a handbook in OHO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/oso/public/privacy_policy_oho.html). Subscriber: University of Toronto Libraries; date: 14 December 2011 The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory Phillips, Anne (Editor), Professor of Gender Theory and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Government and the Gender Institute, London School of Economics Honig, Bonnie (Editor), Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and Senior Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation Dryzek, John S. (Editor), Professor of Social and Political Theory, Political Science Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University Print publication date: 2008, Published to Oxford Handbooks Online: September 2009 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-19-954843-9, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199548439.001.0001