Civil society is the group of people who carry out activities in the private sphere.
Civil society is a notion that is linked to the group of individuals who carry out activities in the private sphere. The concept, however, can be understood in various ways.
It is important to note that society is a group of people who share certain characteristics and who have common objectives. Civil , on the other hand, is that which is associated with a citizen or that is not part of the religious or military sphere.
In the context of law , civil society is the contract established by two or more individuals, assuming the obligation to pool certain resources for the creation of a legal entity that does not have an exclusively commercial nature, although it aims to generate a profit that, If obtained, it is divided between the parties.
Civil society according to the social sciences
For the social sciences , civil society is the group of subjects who, assuming their role as citizens, develop certain actions to influence the public sphere . Civil society, in this sense, can act in politics without being part of the government or even without belonging to a political party or another type of organization.
It can be said that civil society functions autonomously with respect to the State , organizing itself independently and voluntarily. If a group of neighbors decides to gather in a square to protest a wave of robberies, demanding the resignation of the Chief of Police and demanding a greater number of officers on the street, it could be indicated that it is a civil society protest. The claim may then be taken, or not, by the government or by some political sector that channels it in some way to the structures where State decisions are made.
There are different ways of understanding the concept of civil society.
The look of Alexis de Tocqueville
One of the names associated with this concept in the field of social sciences is Alexis Henri Charles de Clérel , also known as Alexis de Tocqueville . He is a politician, historian, jurist and thinker of French origin who lived at the beginning of the 19th century , considered one of the most significant ideologues of liberalism , as well as a precursor of the so-called classical sociology. According to its definition of the concept, we understand civil society as a group of institutions and civic organizations of a voluntary and social nature, which fulfill mediation functions between the State and individuals .
Alexis de Tocqueville also contemplated the presence of non-governmental organizations within this group of civil society, those that do not pursue a profit motive, such as foundations, associations, professional associations, religious communities and universities . This prominent politician was also the first to analyze the link that exists between democracy and civil society and resolved that the former benefits from any type of social organization, since it opens the doors to citizen participation, as if it were a wall that would prevent the State from invading this space as it pleases.
Habermas and civil society
The German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas , acclaimed for his contributions to practical philosophy, asserted that democracy - without which the existence of a legitimate State is not possible - depended in part on a distinction between a political society and a civil one. In their works it is possible to find the following two components of civil society:
- The institutions that defend and define the social, political and individual rights of the people and that allow them to associate freely, defend themselves against monopoly and other actions that threaten their freedoms and that intervene in the system itself.
- Social movements that constantly bring new values and principles to the table, as well as demands from the people and control over the respect of their rights.