从托克维尔到哈贝马斯--探寻市民社会的特征

尽管学界对市民社会的理论展开过广泛讨论和研究，但并没有对其理论的概念和特征做出统一而权威的定义。首先梳理市民社会思想的演变和发展，之后通过对思想家托克维尔和哈贝马斯相关理论著作的研读，来探寻市民社会的主要特征。首先，市民社会是一个多元社会，多元社会能够有效防范“多数的暴政”。其次，市民社会是一个自治社会，个人的力量和社会力量的结合，常会完成最强大和最集权的行政当局所无法完成的任务。最后，市民社会是一个商谈社会，在现代市民社会中，大众传播媒介意义重大，是形成公众舆论的重要途径。

From Tocqueville to Habermas-An exploration of the characteristics of the civil society

Although the academia discusses the civil society theory extensively it has not made a unified and authoritative definition of its concept and characteristics. Based on the literature review of the relevant theories of Tocqueville and Habermas, this article studies the evolution and development of the thought of civil society and then the main characteristics of the civil society. The civil society is first a pluralistic society, which takes effective precaution against the tyranny of the majority. Moreover, it is an autonomous one combining the individuals and social forces to fulfill the tasks that the most powerful and centralized administrative authority can not. Finally it is a deliberative one, in which the mass media is the most important approach to spread public opinion.