Antonio Gransci the Italian cultural theorist and inspiration behind the Cultural Studies movement; whilst in an Italian prison at the behest of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1930's wrote that the battleground for social change was in civil society. For Gramsci it was civil society that formed the trenches where the modern war for the heart of society was taking place. I believe what Gramsci believed; that civil society is the space for struggle for social change.
All great political philosophy identifies an agent, a group in society that can lead the struggle and usher in a new era. For Christianity it was the poor; for Communism it was the worker and I believe that today for liberal politics civil society is that agent that has the power to change the world for the better.
I believe that today we must build a civil society movement that can hold the state and the market to account and give a voice to the voiceless. I believe that those with the heart and soul to want to do good for others through charitable and community work are the ones that should hold the reigns of power in any society; directing the market towards a more ethical economy and the state towards more ethical governance.
Today the domination of the state and the market has led to near economic ruin; forced many people into homelessness and millions into unemployment. The domination of the state and the market has led to the need for food banks in some of the richest countries in the world. The domination of the state and the market in society has led to the breakdown of human relationships and the destruction of community as the state and the market increasingly eroded the civil society sphere. Although civil society is in fact the first sector of human society it has been relegated to the place of the "third sector" by the state and the market and left people unable to come together around the great human ideals that have guided mankind for millenia. It is civil society that has allowed for both the state and the market to flourish. It is civil society that has created the human values that paved the way for mankind to strive for peace, globalisation and human rights.
Whilst political philosopher's can largely be split into two categories those that are pro-market and those that are pro-state, I and other community organisers are seeking towards a political philosophy that puts civil society at the centre of what the good society is about. To create a powerful political space that seeks to turn us towards working for the common good.
It has been the dream of many liberals for a world without borders and a world where peace reigns, the power of civil society has the power to undermine the barriers that have been created by the state. Through the organisation of global civil society we can transcend the blood and soil philosophy that birthed the nation state and manifest an internationalism that is fundamentally human.
The philosophy of civil society that I espouse transcends race, class and gender. It is not a philosophy of division that excludes on the basis of race, class or gender like the identity politics of the past. It is a philosophy that speaks to the humanity in all people in pursuit of the common good and the spirit of one love.
My people are not the workers or my race but the race and class of angels that have done and continue to work in the trenches for a better world.
That is what I believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment