Despre capitalul social

Civic Dictionary

Social Capital

Prepared by Carmen Sirianni and Lewis Friedland
editor-in-chief and research director of the Civic Practices Network.

Social capital refers to those stocks of social trust, norms and networks that people can draw upon to solve common problems. Networks of civic engagement, such as neighborhood associations, sports clubs, and cooperatives, are an essential form of social capital, and the denser these networks, the more likely that members of a community will cooperate for mutual benefit. This is so, even in the face of persistent problems of collective action (tragedy of the commons, prisoner’s dilemma etc.), because networks of civic engagement:

• foster sturdy norms of generalized reciprocity by creating

De ce ne-ar interesa și pe noi cum stă treaba cu societatea asta civilă?

Civic Dictionary

Discovering Self-Interest

One-On-One Interviews

Excerpted from “Reinventing Citizenship: The Practice of Public Work,” by the staff and partners of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, p. 64. Copyright © 1995 by Minnesota Extension Service and Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota “Making the Rules: A Public Achievement Guidebook,” 3rd ed, by Melissa Bass, p. 54. Copyright © 1994 by Project Public Life. Self-interest grows out of the diversity and fluidity of public life. It brings people to the public world. Self-interest is one’s motivations, background, hopes; it’s what matters to someone. Self-interest locates the individual within their histories, families, beliefs, and practices.

Democrația prin consens

Civic Dictionary

Consensus Democracy
A New Approach to 21st Century Governance

By the Kentucky Leadership Institute/Center for Communities of the Future

The Idea

AmericaSpeaks has issued the challenge for governance in the 21st Century: “to regain some control over the policies which affect our lives.” On first glance, simple solutions seem to be available which can reenergize the democratic process: “Get the right people to run; if only the people would let us do the job for which we were elected; vote for term limits; it’s time for a third party. ” On the surface these comments appear

Cum ziceati ca era cu societatea asta “civila”?..

Civic Dictionary

Civil Society

Prepared by Carmen Sirianni and Lewis Friedland
editor-in-chief and research director of the Civic Practices Network

Civil society refers to that sphere of voluntary associations and informal networks in which individuals and groups engage in activities of public consequence. It is distinguished from the public activities of government because it is voluntary, and from the private activities of markets because it seeks common ground and public goods. It is often described as the “third sector.” For democratic societies, it provides an essential link between citizens and the state. Its fundamental appeal since its origin in the Scottish Enlightenment is its attempt to synthesize public and private good.

Civil society includes voluntary associations of all sorts: churches, neighborhood organizations, cooperatives, fraternal and sororal organizations, charities, unions, parties, social movements,