This text identifies the neglect of the idea of "civil society" as a central concern common to both the countries of East-Central Europe, struggling to create liberal democracy, and to the Western nations, attempting to rediscover their own tarnished civil institutions. Two centuries after its origins in the Enlightenment, the idea of civil society is being revived to provide an answer to the question of how individuals can pursue their own interests while preserving the greater good of society and, similarly, how society can advance the interests of the individuals who comprise it. However, argues Seligman, the erosion of the very moral beliefs and philosophical assumptions upon which the idea of civil society was founded makes its revival much more difficult than is generally realised.