The notion of civil society arose from the cities of Europe. As the Church asserted its independence from 11th-century monarchs, the burghers asserted their independence from both, and a new way of life began to emerge. The life of the burghers was grounded in commerce: trade and manufacturing. Within city walls, built to fend off Vikings, pirates, and the only slightly more refined princes and knights of the feudal orders, the burghers secured for themselves a new liberty: the freedom to come and go, to run a business, to sell goods. ...(continúa)

Universidad Torcuato Di Tella