Pradipta Mukherjee Asst. Professor, Dept. of Political Science, HMM College for Women, Under West Bengal State University. Dakshineswar, Kolkata

Transcription

1 Pradipta Mukherjee Asst. Professor, Dept. of Political Science, HMM College for Women, Under West Bengal State University. Dakshineswar, Kolkata

2 STATE National Governement Local authorities NGO s Schools COMMUNITY Churches Political parties Friends and family Social movements CIVIL SOCIETY Social life, clubs, self organisations Social partners Informal networks for care, neighbourhood and work Large enterprises Local business life MARKET

3 Narrow sense: all kinds of non-political associations, NGO s, citizens initiatives etc. Descriptive Broad sense: not only associations, but also particular values (e.g., toleration, solidarity, respect for and trust to democratic institutions etc.) Descriptive + normative

4 A part of society?... if so, is there something like civil society in every human society? Or a type of society?... if so, does it mean simply the Western type of society? The term civil society signifies a particular kind of relationship between political power (the state) and citizens

5 1. Individual rights as the source and the limit of political power: John Locke: The Second Treatise on Government (1690) Legitimate political power can be based only on individual rights and consent Individual Life, liberty, property as the limitation of state power 2. Separation of Civil society/state: G.W.F. Hegel (Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts (1821)) two spheres of two different logics: Civil society: individuality State: community, public good

6 3.Voluntary associations: A. detocqueville (Democracy in America ( )) In a modern, democratic society, where are no natural authorities like aristocracy people haveto form associations to preserve themselves from eventually tyrannical state power 4. The public sphere: Open, informed discussion among private citizens as a legitimation of political power-transparency, Rationalization, Involvement [J. Habermas: Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. (1962) Between Facts and Norms. (1992)]

7 Administr.power ( The State ) CIVIL SOCIETY THE PUBLIC SPHERE Market economy

8 Karl Marx followed the Hegelian way of using concept of civil society. For Marx, civil society was the base where productive forces and social relations were taking place, whereas political society was the 'superstructure. Agreeing with the link between capitalism and civil society, Marx held that the latter represents the interests of the bourgeoisie. Therefore, the state as superstructure also represents the interests of the dominant class; under capitalism, it maintains the domination of the bourgeoisie. Hence, Marx rejected the positive role of state put forth by Hegel. Marx argued that the state cannot be a neutral problem solver. Rather, he depicted the state as the defender of the interests of the bourgeoisie. He considered the state to be the executive arm of the bourgeoisie, which would wither away once the working class took democratic control of society.

9 Departing somehow from Marx, Gramsci did not consider civil society as coterminous with the socio-economic base of the state. Rather, Gramsci located civil society in the political superstructure. He viewed civil society as the vehicle for bourgeois hegemony, when it just represents a particular class. He underlined the crucial role of civil society as the contributor of the cultural and ideological capital required for the survival of the hegemony of capitalism. Rather than posing it as a problem, as in earlier Marxist conceptions, Gramsci viewed civil society as the site for problem-solving.

10 POLITICAL VS. CIVIL SOCIETY, by Partha Chatterjee: Post-colonialism leaves much of the population moving in a different direction: movements and mass pressure. Often, this "political society" takes this form: (1) a chunk of the population is breaking some law (squatting, or stealing utilities, or whatever). (2) At the same time, it demands social welfare rights (as a right). (3) This is demanded as a collective (not individual) right. (4) The state treats the group not as a "civil society" interest organization, but as a group of people seeking some benefit.

11 1. civil society apart from the state; 2. civil society against the state; 3. civil society in support of the state; 4. civil society in dialogue with the state; 5. civil society in partnership with the state; 6. civil society beyond the state.

12 These four classical dimensions still represent the basis of the discourse on civil society. But: there are several new problems: 1. Crisis of welfare democracies in the West: Clients of the state versus Citizens? Administrative and procedures of the state have become alienated from the people Manipulated public opinion and elitist-style politics 2. Collapse of the Soviet bloc in the East: Role of civil society in East-European transformations The weakness of civil society in post-communist countries

13 3. Globalization : Civil society traditionally bound up with the nation-state. The latter loses its omnipotence gradually. Individualization as a threat to civil society: people lose their relations with particular communities (Z.Bauman: vagabounds and tourists ) The global civil society?

14 People feel themselves alienated from democratic institutions: Low trust in Representatives and in the Government Extremely low trust in political parties High trust in newspapers and television People tend not to believe in the meaningfulness of democratic actions on behalf of civil society NGOs are the key agents while social movements are the key messengers There are also strong preferences for more state involvement in society

15 Civil Society: History and Possibilities, by Sudipta Kaviraj and Sunil Khilnani (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001 Civil Society and the State by Simone Chambers and Jeffrey Kopstein in Anne Phillips, Bonnie Honig, John S. Dryzek Edited The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory, Oxford Handbooks Online: September 2009