I have learned a lot of things within this class. But, the most important thing, in my opinion, is the Civil Society Theory. I think that this is the basis to the civil society sector. This theory says that it is three equal pieces, which defines an organization by what it is “not”= non-profit. The third sector means the same thing as a non-profit, which is in addition to government and business. The civil society is the development of organizations not government or business oriented.
The other part of this class that I thought was important was the information that made up the basic components of civil society. I have never really thought about civil society or non-profits and had no idea that there were so many organizations out there. The basic components of the civil society are the social process, the people together for a cause and reasons, the intention- the specific reason, and counter-hegemonic which is always working against the status-quo.
Just knowing this information from class has allowed me to look at an organization and notice what they have to change and what they are trying to do or improve. The civil society is not right or wrong nor left or right. I think that learning this piece of information about how society is structured according to the Civil Society Theory has made me see how in depth the non-profit sector is within our society. Almost every organization, store, billboard, or newspaper that I see has some sort of reference to a non-profit organization. It is nearing the Christmas season so this is probably why there are so many adds out to give to the poor, or give toys to the children, but I have seemed to notice it more than in past years. This is probably due to the fact that I know now how many non-profit organizations are out there, even how they are run in other countries. This class allowed for me to see that and finally understand them too.
Very insightful. You make good points that I agree with. I mean I used to think of all non profits as volunteer type organizations who were out to save the world.
This class has shown the difference and that there are more to non-profit than volunteering. The civil society sector emcompasses much more.
Comment by valjonas — November 29, 2008 @ 11:48 am
I agree with you. This class has made me realize the scope of civil society and how it works within our society. The way in which civil society interacts with the business sector is very complex. There are no clear and definite lines between the three components of our society but this class as enabled me to see differences and similarities between civil society, government and business.
Comment by 13randon — December 7, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
I agree with you, I did enjoy learning about what makes up the components of the civil society. I mean we hear things in the media and read things, but I believe my best knowledge comes from the classroom. And I must say that I am walking away with information that I can relate to anytime and anywhere
Comment by mkalaly — December 8, 2008 @ 5:22 pm