The Role of Civil Society in Democracy
The Role of Civil Society in Democracy
Keith Sanders
July 20, 2013
CIV 410
Victoria Labs
As one looks at the history of democracy, it is common to detect an undertone, a rush of voices clamoring for purchase in the debate regarding how the country will be governed. It is my belief that this undertone is the footprint of civil society, a segment of democratic societies that often can be difficult to identify. Much has been said about how difficult civil society is to define. However, as I read the various definitions and came to my own conclusion, it seemed to me that we should look at civil society as the vital foundation on which democracy is built. There are definitely challenges and civil society is not perfect, but democracy itself is a noisy business. We cannot invite millions of people to participate in self-governance and expect it to always go smoothly, or to be entirely predictable. Yet, as long as civil society is allowed to operate freely, democracy will remain strong and healthy.
Origins of Civil Society The origins of civil society date back to the Greek Empire and the thinking of great teachers such as Socrates, Plato, and ultimately Aristotle (DeWeil, 1997). At that time, there did not exist as concrete a separation between state and civil society. In fact, for all intents and purposes, at that time, the two arenas were considered one and the same. It occurs to me, that this lack of distinction is a direct illustration of the fact that what we currently think of as civil society gave rise to democracy. To some degree, it is my assertion that without the core concept of civil society, the association of people from different stratum of society into groups working for the good of society as a whole, we wouldn’t have democracy in its current form. To be sure, in the days of the Greeks, the associations were much simpler and less varied, and yet without those basic associations, some based on political thought, some on philosophical thought, and some
Keith Sanders
July 20, 2013
CIV 410
Victoria Labs
As one looks at the history of democracy, it is common to detect an undertone, a rush of voices clamoring for purchase in the debate regarding how the country will be governed. It is my belief that this undertone is the footprint of civil society, a segment of democratic societies that often can be difficult to identify. Much has been said about how difficult civil society is to define. However, as I read the various definitions and came to my own conclusion, it seemed to me that we should look at civil society as the vital foundation on which democracy is built. There are definitely challenges and civil society is not perfect, but democracy itself is a noisy business. We cannot invite millions of people to participate in self-governance and expect it to always go smoothly, or to be entirely predictable. Yet, as long as civil society is allowed to operate freely, democracy will remain strong and healthy.
Origins of Civil Society The origins of civil society date back to the Greek Empire and the thinking of great teachers such as Socrates, Plato, and ultimately Aristotle (DeWeil, 1997). At that time, there did not exist as concrete a separation between state and civil society. In fact, for all intents and purposes, at that time, the two arenas were considered one and the same. It occurs to me, that this lack of distinction is a direct illustration of the fact that what we currently think of as civil society gave rise to democracy. To some degree, it is my assertion that without the core concept of civil society, the association of people from different stratum of society into groups working for the good of society as a whole, we wouldn’t have democracy in its current form. To be sure, in the days of the Greeks, the associations were much simpler and less varied, and yet without those basic associations, some based on political thought, some on philosophical thought, and some
References: Child Labor Education Project. (2011). Child labor in US history. The University of Iowa Labor Center. Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html DeWeil, B. (1997). A conceptual history of civil society: From greek beginnings to the end of marx. Past Imperfect vol. 6. Retrieved July 18, 2013, from https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/pi/article/view/1422 O’Connell, B. (1999). Civil society: The underpinnings of american democracy. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. Planned Parenthood. (2013). History and successes. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. Retrieved July 20, 2013, from http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/history-and-successes.htm