An Essay on the History of Civil Society

Adam Ferguson's Essay on the History of Civil Society (first published in 1767) is a classic of the Scottish — and European — Enlightenment. Drawing on such diverse sources as classical authors and contemporary travel literature, Ferguson combines a subtle analysis of modern commercial society with a critique of its abandonment of civic and communal virtues. Central themes in Ferguson's theory of citizenship are conflict, play, political participation and military valor. The Essay is a bold and novel attempt to reclaim the tradition of active citizenship in the modern state.

• Author
• Adam Ferguson, Fania Oz-Salzberger, Raymond Geuss

• Format
• paperback

• Pages
• 322

• Series
• Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought

• Publisher
• Cambridge University Press

• Language
• english

• ISBN
• 9780521447362

• Genres
• politics, sociology, philosophy, history, economics

• Release date
• 1996