The Limits to Civil Society: Inspired by a Conversation with Jeremy Heimans

You might have noticed my protracted silence since September. Apologies. I didn’t feel comfortable writing. My mind was  somehow clogged.

I’ve been through a sort of professional crisis, but today while a glorious, unexpected sun is creeping through the window of my sitting room on the notes of Vivaldi’s Baroque music, my mind is regaining clarity and focus.

Paraphrasing a celebrated title for non-orthodox readers – The Limits to Growth – I confess I finally reached the limits to civil society. I realised it this summer. Since then an urgency has been rising in me to make a move. Now I’m ready.

Yesterday a conversation with Jeremy Heimans, co-founder of Avaaz.org and Purpose.com, gave me the opportunity to clarify my thoughts and devise a new plan. A new life-cycle is starting while the old one is waning away as spring follows winter, David Attenborough would comment in Planet Earth.

The fundamental flaws I came to experience in dealing with civil society in Europe are in two streams: the first one is its unease with the market economy and wealth creation; the second one is what I call the elected people syndrome.

In the first case, civil society’s problem with the economy is embedded in the values of the people who choose to dedicate their lives to and work for a society where power and wealth don’t dominate human relations. Although this sounds ideal, it doesn’t really match capitalistic value system in which we operate. We might disapprove it but capitalism – more or less regulated – is the only economic model proven to deliver in modernity. We can transform it but not defeat it.

However, civil society organisations are too often ready to criticise capitalism but willing to accept their role of wealth re-distribution. Few of them are independent enough to turn down grants and sponsorships. How could you address the injustice of capitalistic economy if you become one of its beneficiaries?

Fortunately new economic trends endorsing social and environmental requirements such as social enterprise and impact investing are taking off. When matched to the power of the web and social networks hope turns into reality. But changing the economy is not a joke and civil society organisations struggle to rise to the challenge. They prefer asking for a donation or a ‘click’.

The second flaw of civil society is due to the belief in its moral superiority. Activists and civil society champions claim to know public good and advocate for themselves guiding the man in the street . Such a patronising attitude – although necessary to raise awareness – ends up clashing with the democratic culture of western society – the majority prevails – and often turns civil society in navel-gazing organisations obsessed with their own success as a bunch of fundamentalists. They miss engaging people and fostering their civic agency. They act as all the other intermediary bodies set up to control people’s minds, behaviour and pockets.

Except for a minority, this is the norm. In the great scheme of things where the balance of power matters, it’s OK . Civil society organisations will be balanced out by all the other powers. But does not work for me anymore.

In the middle of the crisis which marks a radical transformation of European society and its economy, I feel we need to give priority to building a new economic model, engaging every person, every family, because we are all shareholders. We can tell the millions of young people who are facing the job market for the first time but don’t have any chance to find a job that they should complain to government. There is nothing for government to do – either right or left wing – except pay debts. The only responsible answer would be to help these youth to create their own jobs using all the resources that society offers today.

This is my new path. I want to rediscover the tradition of coops and mutual savings organisations. I want to revive the mission of political movements for a real participatory democracy in which everybody holds gains and responsibilities. I hope you will continue to follow me despite my change of thinking.