Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) was one of the central figures in the
Scottish Enlightenment. His Essay on the History of Civil Society
(first published in 1767) is a bold and novel attempt to reclaim
the tradition of active citizenship and apply it to the modern
state. Drawing on such diverse sources as classical authors and
contemporary travel literature, Ferguson offers a complex model of
historical advance which challenges both Hume's and Smith's embrace
of modernity and the primitivism of Rousseau. Ferguson combines a
subtle analysis of the emergence of modern commercial society with
a critique of its abandonment of civic and communal virtues.
Central to Ferguson's theory of citizenship are the themes of
conflict, play, political participation and military valour. His
fascination with the theory of unintended consequences as a model
of historical causality does not deter him from insisting on the
irreplaceable value of individual, public-minded members of
political society.
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