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.

• Classic work of the Enlightenment, by a figure at the centre of the eighteenth-century Scottish intellectual milieu
• Draws on classical literature, travel writing, and Ferguson's knowledge of the Gaelic communities where he was brought up
• Theme of active citizenship an important one today