[Imampaictjg]

1. He is saying nothing at all. Trust me.

2. Presumably by 'civil society' he refers to a Lockian idea of civil society? In other words, 'belonging' to a civil society, as the primary element of belonging (over family or caste or tribe); that is a western concept, which is not necessarily the case elsewhere (ie, believing you are an American, first, rather than an Aryan or a Frank or a Slav or whatever your ethnic/tribal descent is).
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_ml...628_index.html for example as it refers to China specifically.

[gastabegree]

Shamelessly stolen from Wiki (OMG), a modern def from the London School of Economics:

Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups. Plus some more stuff from them: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CCS...il_society.htm

[quottrethew]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
Edit: Where it would have an application though is the West's belief in limited government. China and other nations in the developing world don't embrace this concept. Oh, and this would also give rise to "civil rights," something the Chinese definitely don't have! IIRC it is indeed often used to indicate that a society allows more input from citizens or non-state orgs as opposed to a state where the gov decides everything "from above".

[genna]

Christianity, the separation of church and state Anyone else find this funny?

[chechokancho]

Originally posted by DaShi


How are they different from Americans then? Someone hand me my fish.

[DagoIgnog]

You might want to look into Burke and his "little platoons."

Basically, the presence of civil society means that there are various NGOs which are active and independent. (Essentially people with a like interest have some organizations that can stand up for their interests so that the government, big corportations, revolutionaries, etc. don't trample all over them.)