Numerous definitions exist for civil society. They pertain to the relationship between the state, society and nature of government. Scholars from Thomas Paine to Hegel have considered Civil Society as parallel to but a separate entity from the state. They view civil society as expression of collective will of individuals. Hegel believed that civil society keeps the individualistic tendencies in check and promotes the collective well being of society. On the other hand, Marx considers civil society as subordinate to state and having no real say in the exercise of political and economic power. Gramsci, an Italian Marxist has analyzed civil society’s role in the generation of consent. Gramsci concludes that civil society institutions legitimize the rule of dominant class and persuade the people to inculcate their value system. He believes civil society organizations far from being neutral actors are biased and controlled by the ruling class.
Civil society is widely accepted as the voluntary open association of people, bound by a legal order or set of shared values. Civil society is self-generating, self-supporting, self-constituting, self-sustaining and autonomous. Individuals aim to preserve, safeguard, and promote their interests and wishes by organizing themselves in a collective manner. The new economic realities of private ownership, free market, open competition and individual enterprise have incentivized people to organize themselves to protect their interests.
Civil society is a form of society itself, and organization that allows for co-operation with the state and at the same time enables the flourishing of individuation. Civil society is institutionalized and generalized by law, and especially subjective rights that stabilize social differentiation. Individual participation, accountability of authority/ power, exertion of rights outside households such as neighborhood associations, private charities, Non-Governmental Organizations, grass-root groups, local clubs, independent mass media, autonomous cultural and intellectual activity.
Societies which are not considered as civil society interaction are parochial societies which are inward looking, economic societies which are profit oriented and political societies which seek control over state.
Civil society is considered as the twin of democracy. Democracy in order to flourish needs the support of public who are organized and socialized to democratic norms and values, and committed not just to its myriad narrow interests but to the larges common civic end. Larry Diamond considers, “such a civil public is only possible with a vibrant civil society.” He illustrates that civil society aids in the development, deepening and conservation of democracy.
Alex de Tocqueville has brought out democracy-civil society nexus. Neo-Tocquevillians like Robert Putnam consider civil society as the bed rock of democracy. He states where there is no social capital, democracy cannot flourish. Civil society aims to meet public ends. Civil society promotes pluralism and diversity.
There are two main views which consider the relationship between state and civil society. The state-centric view considers state as the center of all activities. This strand of political thought can be visible from ancient Greek city state. They consider that the state plays an important role in realizing a good life and believe that state provides the individual with an enabling environment to build his capacity to realize his full potential.
In contrast, the other view holds that civil society should restrict and regulate the state power. It does not seek to capture state power but to reform and exercise control over state power. This view is supported by free market proponents who subscribe to private property, individual enterprise, unregulated markets and unfettered competition and neo-liberals who favor the “roll-back of the state” and allow market supremacy. They privilege the civil society over state authority and consider juridically defined individuals as right bearing entities. Civil society enables critical rational discourse which possesses the potential to interrogate the state.
Civil society is considered as the site where the society enters into a relationship with the state. It is a form of associative initiatives by non-state organizations. It prioritizes open communication, publicity, freedom of expression, and rights to form associations.
Neera Chandoke states that state and civil society are bound by reciprocity. There can be no theory of state without a theory of civil society without theory of state.
The Nature of state whether democratic or authoritarian can be identified by observing the politics of civil society. In a democratic setup civil society flourishes. Debate, dissent and discussion are encouraged. In contrast, in an authoritarian governmental setup, civil society is controlled and regulated, dissent and discussion are stifled.
The history of political thought is considered as the history of state and civil society relationship. Briefly, the social and political consequences of industrial revolution occupied center stage. The rise of communist regimes and the over extension of state control to regulate private spheres and civil society brought them in contrast to western democratic nations. The collapse of Soviet Union has enthused democracy as well as civil society. It has brought the focus on free associations to ensure progress, peace and stability. In third world countries civil society is invoked by international donors and developmental organizations. They contribute to deepen developmental democracy where party politics has not provided many dividends.
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