The existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objectives – within a culturally, economically and politically organized multidimensional coexistence seems to be an unassailable fact. However, a...
moreThe existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objectives – within a culturally, economically and politically organized multidimensional coexistence seems to be an unassailable fact. However, a careful analysis of political doctrines as well as the data pertaining to history proves it to be not so readily acknowledged. In fact, not every form of organized civilization, a state being one of its manifestations, accepts the existence of this substance of social life. Hence it is requisite to delineate more precisely the semantics of a wider context for our reflections. This includes the models of organized civilization relevant to our discourse as well as a potential social substance of a broadly defined non-governmental circles, featuring actors of the so-called third sector. Considering the complexity of the issues under consideration we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, referring to philosophical schools of political thought, analysing source materials of multifarious research on the non-governmental sphere in Poland, as well as undertake a sociological method of participatory action research.
Many persons would subscribe to the statement that the construction of social and state structures is among the most fundamental effects of deliberate civilization-shaping endeavours of humans intending to shape their life environment. A wide spectrum of possible solutions in this respect is embodied by theoretical reflection on the forms of social organization as well as by practice documented in history. On the one hand one may discern the forms that constrain or even rule out the existence of autonomous subjects in social, political, economic or cultural life, or in just one of them. Varying in their nomenclature and the message they carry, these systems’ common denominator rests in curtailing or refusing citizens their civic entitlements, be it relating to liberty, social life, solidarity, or – as it commonly occurs – a combination thereof. Diametrically opposed to these state solutions are models that recognize – in one way or another, depending on the tradition of the underpinning political thought – the citizen presence and citizen activity as the centre of the broadly defined public life. The civil society is one of the indicators of these forms of social and state organization. It is sine qua non prerequisite of the actual – not merely declarative – materialization of initiatives and operation of non-governmental organizations and of their contribution to creating a structured space for human coexistence.
In pondering the place and role of the non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and initiatives within organized civilization, we will focus on such forms thereof which endorse civil society. We use the term not to denote a single political thought or its historical articulation, but rather – generally speaking – a certain area defined by certain political theories as well as their practical applications containing the said distinctive feature.
