Civil society

The challenges civil society has to face

In democratic societies, people enjoy a wide range of civil rights. However, a relatively developed civil society is a privilege rather than prerequisite of our social reality. A strong civil society is often acting against the interests of the government or the private sector, if it for example fights against a new environmentally unfriendly dam or advocates stronger labour rights. Thus it can be developed only in particular circumstances, where the civil movements are populous enough, are based on non-financial persuasions, and act within a pluralistic society.

We can list 5 distinct “enemies“ of civil society:

1. Despotism - the idea of fear which discourages any type of group that is formed between society and government. These forms of government still exist in countries where a single entity rules with absolute power, like it is in North Korea, China or Russia.
2. Revival of traditional moral values and principles that limit civil rights. An example is a state which adopts a strong religious moral code that does not let women participate in society to the same level as men.
3. Specific forms of nationalism: in this case the rule of the majority wins, and assimilation is used in order to form the ideal society. It often occurs in many post-communist countries nowadays.
4. Totalitarian ideologies. The similarities of totalitarian states can be found between Nazi Germany and other Fascist states on the one hand, and Soviet Communist Party states on the other.
5. Essentialist cultural ideals: They form “social cages” that determine the function and value of an individual in society. Political racism is one of the examples. In this case the hierarchical structure limits people and their right to express their political and other opinions freely.