Everything about Civil Society totally explained
Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning
society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a
state (regardless of that state's political system) and commercial institutions.
Origin
The term is often traced to
Adam Ferguson, who saw the development of a "commercial state" as a way to change the corrupt feudal order and strengthen the liberty of the individual. While Ferguson didn't draw a line between the state and the society,
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a
German philosopher, made this distinction in his
Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Broadly speaking, the term was split, like Hegel's followers, to the
political left and
right. On the left, it became the foundation for
Karl Marx's
bourgeois society; to the right it became a description for all non-state aspects of society, expanding out of the
economic rigidity of
Marxism into
culture,
society and
politics
Definition
There are myriad definitions of
civil society. The
London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society working definition is illustrative:
Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups.
Civil society and democracy
The literature on links between civil society and democracy have their root in early liberal writings like those of
Alexis de Tocqueville. However they were developed in significant ways by 20th century theorists like
Gabriel Almond and
Sidney Verba, who identified the role of civil society in a democratic order as vital.
They argued that the political element of many civil society organizations facilitates better awareness and a more informed citizenry, who make better voting choices, participate in politics, and hold government more accountable as a result. The statutes of these organizations have often been considered micro-constitutions because they accustom participants to the formalities of democratic decision making.
More recently,
Robert D. Putnam has argued that even non-political organizations in civil society are vital for democracy. This is because they build
social capital, trust and shared values, which are transferred into the political sphere and help to hold society together, facilitating an understanding of the interconnectedness of society and interests within it.
Others, however, have questioned how democratic civil society actually is. Some have noted that the civil society actors have now obtained a remarkable amount of political
power without anyone directly electing or appointing them. Finally, other scholars have argued that, since the concept of civil society is closely related to democracy and representation, it should in turn be linked with ideas of nationality and nationalism.
Civil society and globalization: Global Civil Society
The term civil society is currently often used by critics and activists as a reference to sources of resistance to and the domain of social life which needs to be protected against
globalization. This is because it's seen as acting beyond boundaries and across different territories. However, as civil society can, under many definitions, include and be funded and directed by those businesses and institutions (especially donors linked to European and Northern states) who support
globalization, this is a contested use.
On the other hand, others see
globalization as a social phenomenon bringing
classical liberal values, which inevitably lead to a larger role for civil society at the expense of politically derived state institutions.
Examples of civil society institutions
Whether all of these institutions are by definition part of civil society is up for debate. One side of this debate posits that only institutions that are critical of the state are actually part of civil society, while the rest are merely not governmental. The key here's that not every institution is a 'countervailing power' to the state. In
developing countries, civil society is very popular with aid donors with left and right leanings. But very often mock civil society organisations exist (including those that support and which are critical of neo-liberalism) that serve only to gain access to
development aid or to provide the illusion of popular support for Northern political projects..
Further Information
Get more info on 'Civil Society'.
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