Commentary on Chapter 3

Abstract

This very interesting chapter written by Delalieux and Kourula raises two important questions: (1) Why do the categories of civil society, so co-opted by neoliberal ideology, attract the aspiration of radical democracy and anticapitalist movements? (2) How can partnerships between nongovernmental organizations (civil society) and multinational corporations (market) mitigate the worst effects of economic liberalism? The authors argue that (a) the concept of civil society in Enlightenment thought is sometimes significantly different from its use in contemporary civil society theorizing – even though the latter speaks in the name of the former; (b) the results of civil society actions in correcting the market are limited in time, space, and resources; and that (c) the contemporary critics of the state are forming a powerful coalition that is demonizing the state in a way that is preventing public regulation from developing. Those powerful conclusions should make everyone rethink critically the importance of each sector as well as the relationship between sectors.

Citation

Laratta, R. (2011), "Commentary on Chapter 3", Hull, R., Gibbon, J., Branzei, O. and Haugh, H. (Ed.) The Third Sector (Dialogues in Critical Management Studies, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 75-80. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2046-6072(2011)0000001011