The Traditional Concept Of The Public-Private And The Construction Of Modern Civil Society

After three-decade reform and opening up, the theoretical study on the proposition of"Chinese Civil Society"become more and more, with the establishment and continually deepening of the socialism market economic system, with the advance of the process of democracy and law. Overall, the dissension overwhelms the consensus. The concept of"Civil Society"is not innate in Chinese culture, but imported from western culture. It can be traced back to the earliest period of Aristotle in ancient Greece and it meant"polis"originally at that time. And it must have a complex developmental process.Developing until today, the concept of "civil society" has been used in three-level progressive relationship: on the first level, it embodies the liberal order of the legal civilization society; on the second level it refers to the systems and institutions which protect the individual and private rights corresponding to the public government; on the third level, it refers to"the third sector"among the three departments: the government, the enterprise and the social organization, which is non-profit social organization. Among the three levels there is a distinct progressive relationship. The former one is a prerequisite and basis for the next one .The third meaning of the concept of"civil society"is only figurative without the first two.The author believes that although Chinese society has a large number of"the third sectors", the third meaning of civil society in China, is only a representation. Chinese civil society has just begun viewed from value and ideas, systems and institutions embodied by the first and second levels as the premise and the basis. The public-private is a very important pair of political philosophy category. All the modern concepts of civil society are permeated with the debates between the public and the private; all the systems and institutions in the modern civil society embody the game between the public and the private.This article starts with straightening out the process of evolution and development of the traditional concept of the public-private, analyses its main ideas and basic characteristics, and reveals its realistic and theoretical value. The traditional concept of the public-private with the basic feature of"establishing the public and destroying the private"reflects necessarily the political value and demand of agricultural and authoritarian society. However, the corresponding modern civilization society, which is civil society with the preconditions of market economy, democracy and law, must have a new corresponding meaning of the public- private, and embody equity and justice, freedom and equality.China is in the period of social transition. The construction of modern civil society includes necessarily citizens'political participation, the public spirit, the democratic rights of citizens, public and private spheres, and the rule of law and other fields. Through discussing the traditional concept of the public-private, it has provided important inspiration and reflection not only for the theory of civil society, but for the practice of constructing civil society.