Civil Society Finding its Place in the Twenty-first Century

摘要

Civil society has existed since time immemorial. Today, when we talk about civil society, we are in danger of reinventing the wheel. In pre-industrial society, various components of civil society played a pivotal role in social and economic development. Even in the agricultural period, we witnessed the emergence of guilds, syndicates and various other forms of associations, which functioned as intermediate supplements to the public sector. In the industrial period, a number of actors emerged not only to create greater awareness about civil and political rights, but also to provide their expertise for socio-economic development.