Civil society at the turn of the millennium: prospects for an alternative world order

The meaning of 'civil society' has evolved considerably since its use in th e context of the 18th century European Enlightenment. Then it signified the realm of private interests, in practice the realm of the bourgeoisie, dist inct from the state. While one current of thought retains that meaning and its implications, others view civil society rather as the emancipatory acti vity of social forces distinct from both state and capital. Antonio Gramsci 's thought embraced both meanings: civil society was the ground that sustai ned the hegemony of the bourgeoisie but also that on which an emancipatory counterhegemony could be constructed. Is civil society today in the latter sense, a surrogate for revolution that seems a remote possibility towards t he attainment of an alternative social and world order? It is useful to tes t this proposition by examining the potential for civil society in differen t parts of the world.