Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests. It is sometimes considered to include the family and the private sphere and then referred to as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business. Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon defines civil society as 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government. Sometimes the term is used in the more general sense of "the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society" (Collins English Dictionary).
The term entered public discourse in the United States in the 1990s. However its tradition is much richer and longstanding.
Volunteering is often considered a defining characteristic of the organizations that constitute civil society, which in turn are often called NGOs, or NPOs. Most authorities have in mind the realm of public participation in voluntary associations, trade unions and the like, but it is not necessary to be belong to all of these to be a part of civil society.
Read more about Civil Society: Democracy, Constitutional Economics, Globalization, History, Link To The Public Sphere, Set of Behaviour Rules, Enemies of Civil Society, Institutions
Famous quotes containing the words civil and/or society:
“A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)
“... my aim is now, as it has been for the past ten years, to make myself a true woman, one worthy of the name, and one who will unshrinkingly follow the path which God marks out, one whose aim is to do all of the good she can in the world and not be one of the delicate little dolls or the silly fools who make up the bulk of American women, slaves to society and fashion.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)