市民社会理论:透析当代中国社会转型的新视角

Theory of Civil Society:A New Perspective for Social Transformation of Contemporary China

市民社会与市场经济必然地关联在一起,它在西方国家有着悠久的传统和现实的发展,它对于国家现代化与社会转型的普遍意义已有目共睹、毋庸置疑。包括马克思主义经典作家在内的许多思想家、政治理论家都对市民社会的自身特点、对国家的意义、对人的发展的必然性阶段有着精辟的论述,其中涵盖了市民社会的一般价值诉求和历史的特殊性。当代中国社会转型日益深入,一个中国特色的市民社会应运而生,因此,以一种唯物主义历史观的高度、一种辩证唯物主义的视野,解读市民社会相关理论,透视当代中国社会转型的基本内涵、问题和方向,有理论与实践的双重基础和重要意义。

Civil society has a long tradition and practical development in Western countries, and is unquestionably linked with market economy. Its significance to modernization of a state and social transformation is self-evident. Many thinkers and political theorists, including authors of classical works of Marxism, have expressed their own expositions on the characteristics of civil society, the sigrificance of state, and inevitable stages of man＇s development, covering the general value appeals and historical particularities. With the development of China＇s social transformation, civil society characteristic of the Chinese style is born. Therefore, interpretation of relevant theories of civil society, analysis of the basic connotation, existing problems and methods of social transformation of contemporary China in the light of historical materialism from a dialectic materialist perspective is of theoretical and practical significance.