Civil Society, Democratic Space, and Social Work

• Main Author: Neelmani Jaysawal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2013-10-01
• Series: SAGE Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013504934

Civil Society envisages the growth of civilization in a way that the society is in “civilized form.” It has been prominent in Social science since time immemorial. Till 18th century, it was synonymous with the state or political society. It was more or less direct translation of Cicero’s Societas’ Civilis and Aristotle’s Koinonia politike. According to Karl Marx, “Civil Society embraces the whole material intercourse of individuals within a definite stage of development of productive forces.” Civil Society is an arena where modern man legitimately gratifies his self-interest and develops his individuality, but also learns the value of group action, social solidarity which educates him for citizenship and equips him to participate in the political sphere of the state. It provides “networks of civic engagement” within which reciprocity is learned and enforced, trust is generated. An active and diverse civil society plays a valuable role in advancement of democracy. It seeks to ensure that citizen’s interests are taken seriously. The social work intervention may not be democratically envisaged until it is promulgated by civic engagement through Civil Society. Methodology: This is a descriptive study which consists of secondary source of data collection based on reports, books, periodic journals, web-based articles. There have been utilized three case studies for reaching the findings of study. This article will highlight on role of civil society in providing democratic space and assisting social workers to ensure inclusive growth through conglomeration of state and individuals.