On Civil Society and its Non-Political Foundation

Between Civic Virtues and Civic Liberties

Abstract

The recent theories and debates on civil society have almost exclusively focused on citizen's roles in the processes of national or local politics, especially their participation to the political deliberation. But in that perspective, we tend to disregard the non-political or non-public aspects of their lives, consequently limiting 'citizens' only to those who are willing to associate themselves and participate the process of public decision-making or promotion of public interests with clear public concern. For proper understanding of civil society as a whole, now we need to turn to a minimum definition of citizenship, which constitutes the non-political foundations of civil society. Only through this wider perspective, we can reconsider tensions and positive relationships between the political aspects and non political aspects of civil society, or between civic virtues and civil liberties. Here I introduce an anecdote of a woman who had to commute with her infant daughter by jam-packed trains, very morning. To overcome this awkward and uncomfortable situation, she just figured out certain small tactic and silently carried it out. without making any general claim of her 'rights' or trying to change the normative consciousness of others. This story suggests us some of the most basic elements of citizenship: (1) informality and independence. (2) spontaneity, openness and amateurism. (3) self-centeredness, self-limitation and experimentalism. These qualities suggest that the concept of citizenship do not necessarily imply the public-minded, political-concerned, participatory and justification-oriented 'civic' virtues. Rather, we should be more attentive to the various forming conditions of these virtues out of the non-political aspect of citizenship, that is. more miscellaneous and unorganized, local, experimental and strategic attempt of trial-and-error. I will argue that it is through our exercises of civic liberties - and especially actual experience of errors and failures - that we are led to acquire these civic virtues.