The Efficacy of Civil Society

The Efficacy of Civil Society

 

Efficacy:  the ability to produce a desired or intended result.Why it is time to rely on Civil Society now

 

    1. Global Health Crisis - Covid-19 World Health Organization
      1. Confirmed cases     May 20, 2020    4,789,205  
      2. Deaths                   May 20, 2020      318, 789 
    2. Economies in free fall
      1. Gross Domestic Product Growth
        1. Drop to 2.4 %  Congressional Research Service May 1, 2020
        2. Drop -3.0% International Monetary Fund
        3. Drop of 30-40% in the Second Quarter. Brookings Institute
      2. Workers:
        1. March to April, 2020   Americans 30 million filed for Unemployment Insurance
        2. Internationally: close to 2 Billion workers affected by Covid-19 International Labor Organization 
      3. Thousands of businesses closed
        1. There are 4.0 million small businesses in California  US SBA
        2. Economic Gap will widen
    3. Government responses and failures
      1. Paycheck Protection Program
      2. Business loans
      3. Governments lack of coordination
      4. Governments in Denial
    4. The limitations of Capitalism
      1. Capitalism has been on a ventilator for some time
      2. Capitalism has failed its promise to the common man.
      3. It has created and fostered disparity.
      4. Citizens have known of the limitations of Democracy
  1. Individual actions
    1. People driving less
      1. Reduced carbon emissions
    2. People flying less
  2. Civil Society has a proven track record ( CSO's) 
    1. Globally
      2. United Nations | Department of Global Communications | Civil Society Unit 
      3. IVolunteer International
      4. Salvation Army
      5. Baha'i International Community
      6. League of Women Voters
      7. Nuestors Pequenos Hermanos
      8. Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries
      9. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)Mahila:
      10. “Gingko fellows in Wuhan,”  (Stanford's Center for Innovation)
      11. Wuhan is NCP Life Support Network.
      12. Wuhan University Alumni Association of Greater New YorkDeveloping leadership capacity in 400 slums in India
      14. Making Masks
      15. Building ventillators
      16. Distributing Food to those at home
      17. Offering free services
    2. United States
      1. California
        1. Santa Barbara County Food Rescue  (Community Environmental Council)
        2. Waste Free Ventura County
        3. Veggie Rescue
    4. It relies on Collective Efficacy
    5. It relies on the Diverse Solidarity Economy
    6. What it is and what it can do for you
    7. The logic of using Civil Society
  3. How to strengthen Civil Society
    1. Build trust
    2. Public Gathering Places
    3. Shared Facilitation
    4. Toolkits
  4. Go to these other pages
    1. Housing
    2. Education
    3. Health
    4. Justice
    5. Energy
  5. Warning Signs
    1. Small business bankruptcy's
    2. Loss of personal privacy through contact tracing
    3. Big business steps in

 

Civil Society Conditions

 

 

Civil Society organizations are continually changing. It used to be that civil society was a part of the state. 

The relative effectiveness of Civil Society at any one point in time can be measured using a number of factors:

  • Total number of organizations.
  • Number of members, contributors, supporters.
  • influence of organizations on elected officials.
  • Ability of organizations to influence public opinion over an issue.

Conservative and Libertarian Push Back

  • Property Rights Groups
  • Tea Party Republicans
  • Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission

In several key areas of society I have observed the diminishing interest of civil society.  For instance in working conditions, the diminished number of labor unions and their total membership has resulted in reduced medical, retirement, overtime benefits.  The anti-splap suits and increased number of industrial accidents and their economic impact on the public is a result of two factors, government regulation and oversight and reduced pressure by environmental groups.

Society and law makers inability to make policy and the changes in laws:  

  1. Gun violence
    1. No significant policy changes like red flags laws, background checks have been universally adopted.
  2. Immigration
    1. Health, safety and welfare of immigrants at the board has not measurably improved
  3. Climate justice
    1. The United States has pulled out of the Paris Agreement
  4. Reforms in the Criminal Justice System
  5. Homelessness
  6. Racism
    1. Profiling by law enforcement

These are indicators that civil society has had a diminished impact.

Of course elected officials will maintain that they are listening more to civil society organizations. When in fact their "civil society" organizations that are in actuallity the front groups for industry such as Cable Users of America, Seniors for safe Pharmaceuticals. 

 

  • Disenfranchisement
  • Social Disruption
  • Substandard Housing
  • Lack of Education
  • Family Disruption
  • Poverty
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