(Online Course) Public Administration for IAS Mains Exams
Topic: Accountability and control: Civil Society
The civil society is built on the concept of participatory governments. Government is not business. Government is services. Small governments equipped with competence and public morality render better service than huge governments which can see the forest but not the woods.
If the government is an essential asset, it must not be overloaded with responsibilities, it cannot bear and expectations it cannot met. Government must now be owned by the community. Only then will the people be able to govern themselves.
The idea and role of Civil Society have been recognized in the past two decades with the waves of democratization across the developing world. The growth of the civil society has corresponded to the decline of the role of state in delivering public goods and social services and overall in development. Although civil society has not been clearly defined in terms of the space it occupies and the members it is represented by, a discussion on the working definition of civil society is in order, notwithstanding the bewildering diversities of perception. Civil society is composed of groups and association organized voluntarily, devoted to the cause of collective good, independent of state and on any other vested interest. A lot of confusion prevails over its relation to the state. Without entering into a deeper debate, one would safely assume that the civil society should compliment that state if desirable, collaborate if possible, and confront it if necessary.