What makes civil society civil? Contemporary thinkers in search of principles and institutions that promote social harmony should look to classical liberals such as John Locke and the younger John Stuart Mill, who best articulated the case for limiting the scope of government—and hence allowing private associations of individual citizens to flourish.

Charles K. Rowley (1939–2013) was a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and a Member of Board of Advisors for The Independent Review.
Civil Liberties and Human RightsCivil RightsDemocracyFreedomLaw and LibertyPhilosophy and Religion
Other Independent Review articles by Charles K. Rowley
Winter 1998/99 Five Market-Friendly Nobelists: Friedman, Stigler, Buchanan, Coase, and Becker
Spring 1996 What Is Living and What Is Dead in Classical Liberalism?