Page 107 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

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78 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

significant changes. The idea of corporate namely the so-called Non-Governmental
social responsibility, which has become so Organizations. My purpose here will be just
important within the entrepreneurial world, to search for a general picture of such an
is a good indication that a new moral code is actor, and, in the process, reflect on questions
gaining currency (Carroll, 1999; Garriga and that its presence raises. More precisely, look-
Melé, 2004; Hemingway and Maclagan, ing at NGOs in Brazil, I seek to draw their
2004; Zadek, 2004). The new market moral- profile and, more important, formulate
ity has been interpreted in various ways. For new research questions that might help us to
some, it is mainly a marketing strategy, that shed light on their structures and the roles
is, it creates a false solidarity between the they play.
suppliers and the consumer market, manipu-
lated by the former. For others, the new man-
agerial welfare is a sort of natural return to
voluntary action given the state’s retreat from NEW ACTORS ON STAGE
welfare initiatives under the pressure of neo-
liberal forces. For my purposes here, it is not The rediscovery of civil society in recent
relevant to test if these or other hypotheses decades finds an echo in a new wave of vol-
for the rise of corporate social responsibility untary associations, social movements,
prove true. I want simply to draw attention to strategies to build up social capital, investiga-
the fact that the conventional solutions that tions into the sources of social trust, and sim-
modern society had reached for providing ilar phenomena (Anheier and Themudo,
social goods have been brought into ques- 2002; Della Porta and Tarrow, 2005;
tion. In my view, the fact that the state shares Fernandes, 1994; Keck and Sikkink, 1999;
welfare provision with other models that Khagram et al., 2002). I take these develop-
ensure solidarity has not received the atten- ments as manifestations of the deep transfor-
tion it deserves among sociologists. mations in the way society perceives itself
At the same time that corporate social and its basic resources of organization, as
responsibility gains salience, the adoption of discussed above. Common to all of them is
market principles within structures of author- the emphasis on solidarity resources as dis-
ity, the vivid claims for new government tinct from state authority or market-based
management we hear in different corners of interests. The new labels that describe civil
the world, suggest that elements typical of society actors – non-governmental organiza-
the market have permeated the state. That tions, third sector, solidary sector, etc. – point
government should behave like lean firms clearly to alternative means to state and
and that firms should fulfill welfare functions market. Civil society actors are supposed to
have become as much current values as the provide crucial ingredients to social life,
idea that civil society has to compensate for things that are either absent or badly supplied
the deficiencies of both state and market by the traditional authority and market-
resources. interest mechanisms.
To decipher the deep meaning of this sort One has to bear these developments in
of cultural revolution that puts into question mind in order to understand the significance
the conventional meanings of authority, that the so-called NGOs have come to
market, and solidarity, sociology’s agendas acquire all over the world (Clarke, 1998;
must tackle the changes in progress from Clayton, 1996; Fowler, 1997; Landim, 1988;
multiple angles. What I intend next is to OECD, 1988; Salamon and Anheier, 1996;
explore, in a preliminary way, one of the Wapner, 1995). For some, they are the natu-
issues that I consider relevant to such an ral consequence of the weakening of national
agenda. I will focus my attention on one states challenged by globalization. For
of the new social actors in civil society, others, they express rather the impatience of