[PEN-L:4323] Re: Re: civil society

[Alex Campbell <ncesa1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 02:20 PM 3/12/99 -0800, Jim Devine wrote:
>>Louis Proyect wrote:
>>>Isn't it time that we placed this nebulous term "civil society" on the
>>>shelf until we define what it means more clearly?
>
>Doug answered:
>>Ain't dat da troot, as we say in NYC.
>
>I think it's okay to use the phrase "civil society." Marx used it (it's a
>translation of  "burgerlicte gesellschaft" of course he spelled it
>correctly). After all, and he was right once and awhile.
>
>But it's important to be extremely clear to be clear what we mean by it.
>"Civil society" ideas come from folks like John Locke, referring to the
>consensus in bourgeois society in favor of the property system.
>
>That's basically what it means today.


There is also a more "progressive" strand of theorists who are interested in
rescuing the term from those who would exclusively use it as a term
reflecting the non-state area of society.

Benjamin Barber approaches the debate from the theme of his 1982 book,
Strong Democracy.  He posits a strong democratic view of civil society which
stands in contrast to the libertarian view, which he sees as ignoring the
importance of the public nature of civil society, and the communitarian
view, which Barber suggests gives too little attention to the voluntary
nature of civil society.

"... In a civil society that is the true domain of church, family, and
voluntary association, 'belonging' is not a surrogate for freedom but its
condition and training ground. Civil society's middling terms can
potentially mediate between the state and private sectors, and offer women
and men a space for activity that is voluntary and public. When the
government appropriates the term 'public' exclusively for affairs of state,
the real public (you and me) ceases to be able to think of itself as public
(as an 'us'), and politicians and bureaucrats become the only significant
'public officials.' Then politics is professionalized and citizenship is
transformed into a private occupation.  It is hardly surprising that under
such circumstances people withdraw into themselves, grow angry at
politicians and cynical about democracy, and fall easily to the seductions
of narcissistic consumerism or exclusionary tribalism."
[Benjamin R. Barber, _A Place for Us_ (New York: Hill and Wang, 1998), p. 44.]

	One of the central points Barber attempts to draw out of his conception of
civil society is the implications for citizenship:
"... The strong democratic idea allows civil society to reemerge as a
mediating, civic republican domain between the overgrown governmental and
the metastasizing private sectors, between the thin liberal conception of
citizenship (which 'cannot inspire the sense of community and civic
engagement that liberty requires,' as Sandel puts it) and the thick but
dense and suffocating comunitarian identity (which endangers liberty and
equality)."
[Ibid, p. 63.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex Campbell
Assistant to the President, National Center
for Economic and Security Alternatives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2000 P Street, NW
Suite 330
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202 986 1373 (voice)/ 202 986 7938 (fax)
ncesa1@xxxxxxx
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