Unions & Civic Engagement: How the Assault on Labor Endangers Civil Society

Daedalus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-138
Author(s):  
Andy Stern
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Labor Movement ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
National Level ◽  
Union Density ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Individual

American trade unions are a crucial segment of civil society that enriches our democracy. Union members are stewards of the public good, empowering the individual through collective action and solidarity. While union density has declined, the U.S. labor movement remains a substantial political and economic force. But the relentless attacks by the political right and its corporate allies could lead to an erosion of civic engagement, further economic inequality, and a political imbalance of power that can undermine society. The extreme assault on unions waged by Republicans in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and at a national level must be countered by a revitalized labor movement and by those who understand that unions are positive civil actors who bring together individuals who alone have little power. Unions need both structural reform and greater boldness; there are moments in which direct action and dramatic militancy can bring about positive social change. The current assault on labor can be rebuffed, and unions can expand their role as stewards for the public good and as defenders of efforts by the 99 percent to reduce inequality and protect democracy.

scholarly journals Barriers to Biosimilar Prescribing Incentives in the Context of Clinical Governance in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Félix Lobo ◽  
Isabel Río-Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
National Level ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Clinical Governance ◽  
Monetary Incentives ◽  
Public System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Micro Level

Incentives contribute to the proper functioning of the broader contracts that regulate the relationships between health systems and professionals. Likewise, incentives are an important element of clinical governance understood as health services’ management at the micro-level, aimed at achieving better health outcomes for patients. In Spain, monetary and non-monetary incentives are sometimes used in the health services, but not as frequently as in other countries. There are already several examples in European countries of initiatives searching the promotion of biosimilars through different sorts of incentives, but not in Spain. Hence, this paper is aimed at identifying the barriers that incentives to prescribe biosimilars might encounter in Spain, with particular interest in incentives in the framework of clinical governance. Both questions are intertwined. Barriers are presented from two perspectives. Firstly, based on the nature of the barrier: (i) the payment system for health professionals, (ii) budget rigidity and excessive bureaucracy, (iii) little autonomy in the management of human resources (iv) lack of clinical integration, (v) absence of a legal framework for clinical governance, and (vi) other governance-related barriers. The second perspective is based on the stakeholders involved: (i) gaps in knowledge among physicians, (ii) misinformation and distrust among patients, (iii) trade unions opposition to productivity-related payments, (iv) lack of a clear position by professional associations, and (v) misalignment of the goals pursued by some healthcare professionals and the goals of the public system. Finally, the authors advance several recommendations to overcome these barriers at the national level.

Going Far by Going Together: James M. Buchanan’s Economics of Shared Ethics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Art Carden ◽  
Gregory W. Caskey ◽  
Zachary B. Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Public Capital ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Ethical Communication ◽  
Other Regarding Preferences

We explore themes in Nobel Prize–winning economist James M. Buchanan’s work and apply his Ethics and Economic Progress to problems facing individuals and firms. We focus on Buchanan’s analysis of the individual work ethic, his exhortations to “pay the preacher” of the “institutions of moral-ethical communication,” and his notion of law as “public capital.” We highlight several ways people with other-regarding preferences can contribute to social flourishing and some of the ways those who have “affected to trade for the public good” might want to redirect their efforts. We show how Buchanan’s work has considerable implications for business ethics. Just as his economic analysis of politics changed how we understand government, we think his economic analysis of ethics can (and should) change how we understand business.

scholarly journals Transforming the World in Which We Live: Laureate's Transnational Civic Learning Project

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
William M. Plater
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Civic Learning ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
The World

<p>Higher education serves as an agent of social change that plays a significant role in the development of socially conscious and engaged students. The duty higher education has toward society, the role for-profit educational institutions play in enhancing the public good, and the prospect of making social change an element of these providers’ missions are discussed. Laureate’s Global Citizenship Project is introduced, highlighting the development of the project’s civic engagement rubric and the challenges of assessing civic engagement.</p>

Why Do National Cybersecurity Awareness Programmes Often Fail?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-27
Author(s):  
Eva NAGYFEJEO ◽  
Basie Von SOLMS
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
National Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Cyber Space ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
The Government ◽  
Basic Level

Nowadays, many cyber users do not understand how to protect themselves and their information within cyber space. One reason is that cyber users are unaware of possible cyber risks and threats that may occur within cyber space. The second reason is that citizens, businesses and users within the public sector may be aware of relevant cyber risks but do not really understand the seriousness of such risks and the consequences if they do realise. Therefore, cybersecurity awareness campaigns are an integral part of improving cybersecurity awareness. Based on in-country reviews conducted as part of the Global Cybersecurity Capacity Centre (GCSCC) programme, we observed that the campaigns to raise cybersecurity awareness throughout the country are often led by different ‘owners’ without co-ordination and adequate resources therefore creating fragmentation in the national cybersecurity awareness raising programme. This paper suggests that the development of a coordinated and coherent national cybersecurity awareness program is critical for building a basic level of aware-ness at the national level. We will examine the requirements needed to develop a coordinated national awareness raising programme by reviewing the existing literature, best practice approaches and the role of different stakeholders such as the government, private sector and civil society. We will draw conclusions on the main obstacles to ensure overall coherence between the actions of stakeholders and the efforts countries should prioritise in order to increase awareness of cyber risks at the national level.

scholarly journals Walk the Talk? The Effect of Voting and Excludability in Public Goods Experiments

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans J. Czap ◽  
Natalia V. Czap ◽  
Esmail Bonakdarian
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Public Project ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Other Regarding

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of voting and excludability on individual contributions to group projects. We conducted two experiments on excludable and nonexcludable public goods, which provided several important results. First, contrary to our expectations, subjects are generally contributing more to the non-excludable compared to the excludable public good. Second, participating in a vote to choose a public project per se makes no difference in contributions. However, if the project that the individual voted for also gets selected by the group, they contribute significantly more to that project. Third, empathy and locus of control are important driving forces of participation in common projects. Our results have implications on the procedural design of obtaining funding for public projects. First, the public should get involved and have a say in the determination of which project should be realized. Second, it might well pay off to attempt to develop a consensus among the population and obtain near unanimous votes, because in our experiment, subjects discriminate between the project they voted for and the project chosen by the majority. Third, the policy proposers should stress the other-regarding interest of the public good rather than just pecuniary incentives.

scholarly journals Tendencies of civil society in Uzbekistan. Some views on formation of public chamber

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-82
Author(s):  
S.Sh. Saidov
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
The Public ◽  
Regulatory Documents

Analyzed are trends in the construction of civil society in Uzbekistan. Examined is the structure of the Public chamber, described are its tasks, functions and responsibilities. Noted is, that in recent years a number of regulatory documents were adopted in Uzbekistan in this regard, and in some cases they contradict each other. The article recognizes not only organizational and legal aspects of formation of civil society, but also the need to strengthen its ideological foundations, increase civic engagement and introducing of democratic values. It is specially noted, that indicator of the mature level of civil society is not number of public organizations or official membership in them, but the level of citizens’ involvement in these organizations, i.e. social base of civil society, that determines socio-political stability in the country.

scholarly journals Navigating Civic Space in a Time of Covid: Synthesis Report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson, Colin Anderson, Colin ◽  
Rosie McGee ◽  
Niranjan Nampoothiri ◽  
John Gaventa ◽  
Salvador Forquilha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Emergency Relief ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civic Activism ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
Synthesis Report ◽  
Civic Space

Since long before the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, civic space has been changing all over the globe, generally becoming more restricted and hazardous. The pandemic brought the suspension of many fundamental freedoms in the name of the public good, providing cover for a deepening of authoritarian tendencies but also spurring widespread civic activism on issues suddenly all the more important, ranging from emergency relief to economic impacts. Research partners in the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA)'s Navigating Civic Space in a Time of Covid project have explored these dynamics through real-time research embedded in civil society in Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan, grounded in a close review of global trends.

The "Secular" as a Tragic Category: On Talal Asad, Religion and Representation

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Craig Brittain
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Modern State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Concept ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Individual

AbstractAmong current efforts to deconstruct the category "religion" is a tendency to problematize the secular/sacred distinction with the argument that it is simply the product of the distinctive history of post-Reformation Western Europe. The "secular," it is claimed, is a category employed to legitimize the modern state by establishing a boundary between the authority of the public sphere, in opposition to the privatized sphere of the individual religious practitioner. This paper analyses this argument as it is developed by Talal Asad and contrasts his "genealogy" of the secular with Dominique Colas' genealogy of the concept of "civil society". This comparison raises pragmatic and political concerns about Asad's perspective, and problematizes his description of Islamic subjectivity. The paper concludes by furthering Asad's reading of Walter Benjamin's understanding of allegory, in order to argue for the secular as a tragic category that continues to represent a vital theoretical and political concept.

Civil Society Development and Democratic Values in Romania and Moldova

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Bădescu ◽  
Paul Sum ◽  
Eric M. Uslaner
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Civil Society Development

Does civic engagement lead to democratic values such as trust and tolerance? This is the claim of the literature on social capital. Using surveys of the public and organizational activists the authors conducted in Romania and Moldova in 2001 with the support of the Starr Foundation, they investigate these linkages. In both countries, they find low levels of civic engagement, trust, and tolerance for the mass public. They also find little support for the argument that participation leads to greater trust and tolerance among the mass public. However, they find considerably higher levels of trust, tolerance, and engagement among organizational activists and suggest that this elite may help transfer democratic values to the larger population. It is disconcerting that such activists constitute minuscule proportions of the population in both countries.

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