Civil Society -- a Definition and Defense of this Critical Aspect of Modern Life

What is a civil society? To answer this question, what is the nature and composition of a civil society, one must first answer the question -- what is a society? A society may be defined as a conglomeration or an association of individuals greater than and representing a wider and more diverse range of interests than 'the one.' In other words, a society is more than an individual. And, although a family or at least an extended family could be perceived as a kind of microcosm of society, technically a family is not equated with a society by sociologists because of its relative singularity of interests, emotional and social, and economic. In contrast, the nature and components of the civil societies such as trade unions, churches, and interest groups of various political colors are voluntary in...
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