Research Log #5

Research Log #5

Eigen, Peter. "The Role of Civil Society." Corruption and Integrity Movement Initiatives in Developing Countries. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. <http://mirror.undp.org/magnet/Docs/efa/corruption/Chapter05.pdf>.

            I found this article to be a good one to end on. Not only does it give a great explanation on what role civil society plays in our life, but it is also an organization to help fight against corruption and to keep civil society together. They believe there is three pillars that make a non-corrupted society, the government, a private sector and of course civil society in general. It also talks about how where the government lack, civil society would come into play and take over. We also have ethical standards and without those we would be counter-productive and also be hypocritical at certain things. The article also goes on to say that with the freedom of the press we are able to speak our minds, let our voices be heard. With this valuable right we can maintain order in society and keep it anti-corrupted. The government must also not neglect the people in the society, for then everything will be corrupted and we wouldn’t trust the government anymore. I really liked this quote in the article, “Civil society will indeed be needed everywhere; it is the key for access to that cultural diversity.” Pg 87. The article then says that it would be impossible for the government to take over the role of civil society for it is what we all fight to not have.

            I really like how it talked about how we should be culturally diverse and that it is one of the main factors in holding a civil society. Without it we all would not be happy and wouldn’t be able to function or be civil towards one each other at all. I also liked that this article was based on a non-governmental organization that is trying to promote anti-corruption. Its nice to know that there are groups out there trying to make a difference in our society and helping us understand why it matters so much. The government does play a huge role in our life but we also need to stay together and not let it over run everything. We live in a free country and have rights to do certain things that are personal to us.

            After reading about all these different things about a civil society, I have found that the government almost tries to take it away. Although they may seem like they want us all to stay civil, just more in a political society.  I also would like to learn more about other organizations that are out there and see what they are trying to do to make our society stay civil. Now I can do some more research and see if there is possibly anything I can do to help out as well.