英文摘要 |
Civil society provides a space between the state and the market. It is about promoting liberty and sustaining equality. The purpose of civil society is seeking a good society where all citizens are entitled their rights to participate in civic affairs. Recognition the importance of civic participation means to assure the rights of equality and freedom for every single citizen. It also believes that human being own their potentials to create flourishing. Volunteering to promote well-being and democracy through civic participation became one of the highest forms of praxis of civil society. United Nations proposes four basic types of voluntary activity, there are mutual aid, philanthropy, campaigning and advocacy, and participation and selfgovernance. Among them, advocacy and participation are volunteering that best fit the ideal of democratic governance for civil society. In this article, the author introduces the theory of democracy from Mary Parker Follett to inquire about the three elements of civil society. Follett’s core emphasis in true democracy is on civic participation, democratic governance and public sphere. Current volunteering in Taiwan is more philanthropy or service to others oriented. The paradigm of volunteering could shift towards civil society model in the future. Volunteer and community organizations, from the perspective of civil society, are not only spheres of service delivery but also schools of democracy and the spheres of democratic governance. |