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Civil Society
A communitarian perspective recognizes that the preservation of
individual liberty depends on the active maintenance of the institutions of civil society
where citizens learn respect for others as well as self-respect; where we acquire a lively
sense of our personal and civic responsibilities, along with an appreciation of our own
rights and the rights of others; where we develop the skills of self-government as well as
the habit of governing ourselves, and learn to serve others-- not just self. . . .
Generally, no social task should be assigned to an institution that is larger
than necessary to do the job. What can be done by families, should not be assigned to an
intermediate group--school etc. What can be done at the local level should not be passed
on to the state or federal level, and so on. There are, of course, plenty of urgent
tasks--environmental ones--that do require national and even international action. But to
remove tasks to higher levels than is necessary weakens the constituent communities. This
principle holds for duties of attending to the sick, troubled, delinquent, homeless and
new immigrants; and for public safety, public health and protection of the
environment--from a neighborhood crime-watch to CPR to sorting the garbage. The government
should step in only to the extent that other social subsystems fail, rather than seek to
replace them. . . .
Many social goals . . . require partnership between public and private groups.
Though government should not seek to replace local communities, it may need to empower
them by strategies of support, including revenue-sharing and technical assistance. There
is a great need for study and experimentation with creative use of the structures of civil
society, and public-private cooperation, especially where the delivery of health,
educational and social services are concerned.
--The Responsive Communitarian Platform
Communitarians have sought to refocus attention on the vast and
richly textured social space between the individual, on the one hand, and the state, on
the other. The quality of our society depends not only on the nature of our Constitution
and laws, or on the health of our economy, but also on the vitality of civil society, of
the scores mediating institutions--neighborhoods, schools, churches, and voluntary
associations--that define our immediate social environment. Political debate over the past
fifty years has centered on the tug of war between government and the individual. Liberals
have sought to nationalize and bureaucratize the care-taking functions of society, while
libertarians in turn have sought to strip the government of power and resources. In the
process, the crucial role of civil society in shaping the quality of life has often been
neglected.
Recent years have seen a rediscovery across the political
spectrum of the importance of civil society. The increasing interest in the delivery of
social services by nonprofit and faith-based organizations, the growing recognition of the
special capacities of churches and faith-based groups in addressing such problems as
juvenile crime, the increasing exploration of partnership arrangements between government
agencies and nongovernmental groups--all point toward a new and promising communitarian
approach to solving our deepest social problems. One of the key developments of the 1990s
has been the reactivation of the community as a powerful "third force" in
shaping the destiny of our citizens.
Readings and Links
In "Community and the Corner
Store", Alan Ehrenhalt examines significant changes in commercial and
cultural life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He explores the benefits of 1990s economy, as
well as the cultural sacrifices - "erosion of custom, of predictability, of patterns
of conduct that [are] known...as community" - the new economic structure entails.
Perhaps
the most far-reaching experiment with local government-civil society partnerships is that
being led by Mayor Stephen Goldsmith of Indianapolis. Read about Goldsmith's widely
efforts to ready a rust-belt city for the twenty-first century in The Twenty-First Century City : Resurrecting Urban America.
For Further Exploration
Abbott, Philip. Seeking Many Inventions: The Idea of Community in America.
Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987.
Barber, Benjamin. A Place For Us: How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong.
New York: Hill and Wang, 1998.
Dilger, Robert Jay. Neighborhood Politics: Residential Community Associations in
American Governance. New York: New York University Press, 1992.
Dionne, E.J. Jr. Community Works: The Revival of Civil Society in America.
Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998.
Foldvary, Fred. Public goods and Private Communities: The Market Provisions of
Social Service. Brookfield, Vt.: Edward Elgar Publishing Company, 1994.
Gilman, Andrew. "Laundromats, Coffee Houses, and Ticket Lines: The Places of
Community Life." The Long Term View 2 (1998): 34-39.
McKenzie, Evan. Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential
Private Government. New Haven, Ct.: Yale University Press.
Moe, Richard, and Carter Wilkie. Changing Places: Rebuilding Community in the Age
of Sprawl. N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1997.
National League of Cities. "Connecting Citizens and Their Government: Civility,
Responsibility, and Local Democracy." The 1996 Futures Report (1996).
Washington, D.C.
National League of Cities. Issues and Options: Citizen Involvement 4 (1996).
Washington, D.C.
National League of Cities. Issues and Options: Youth Participation & Community
Building 4 (May 1996). Washington, D.C.
Prior, D., J. Stewart, and K. Walsh. Citizenship: Rights, Community, &
Participation. London: Pitman Publishing, 1995.
Rabrenovic, Grodana. Community Builders: A Tale of Neighborhood Mobilization in Two
Cities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
Ramsay, Meredith. Community, Culture, and Economic Development: The Social roots of
Local Action. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
Walzer, Michael, ed. Toward a Global Civil Society. Providence: Berghahn
Books, 1995.
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Communitarian Vision
Rights and Responsibilities
Marriage and Family
Schools and Education
Criminal Justice
Diversity and Reconciliation
Civil Society
Faith-Based Social Services
The Economy
The Political Process |
