La disolución de la sociedad civil: sobre los ideales y las vaguedades en la esfera de las asociaciones de voluntariado

The thinking about civil society has always been characterized by the double reference to existing social relations and to societal ideals. The basic hypothesis of much civil society research is that a flourishing sphere with this name is the carrier of the ideal of more civilized society. This article starts with a brief discussion of the historical background and public debates about civil society, and continues with a more analytic approach of the concept as designation of an associational social order and a sphere of society dominated by voluntary associations. We further focus on this sphere, describe its national patterns in Europe and analyze claims of its civilizing benefits: the formation of social capital and public discourse. We find very limited evidence for the claims and look deeper into developments of modern western society, which have made voluntary associations less important and other spheres of society, in particular the broader margins of civil society, more important for the development of a more civilized society.