Libertarian attributes

There is no consensus on the precise definition of libertarianism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines libertarianism as the moral view that agents initially fully own themselves and have certain moral powers to acquire property rights in external things. George Woodcock, author of a history of libertarianism, defines it as the philosophy that fundamentally doubts authority and advocates transforming society by reform or revolution. Libertarian philosopher Roderick Long defines libertarianism as "any political position that advocates a radical redistribution of power from the coercive state to voluntary associations of free individuals", whether "voluntary association" takes the form of the free market or of communal co-operatives.[3] According to the U.S. Libertarian Party, libertarianism is the advocacy of a government that is funded voluntarily and limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

This section requires expansion. (December 2012)

Term	Definition
Libertarian	advocate minimizing coercion and emphasize freedom, liberty, and voluntary association. Libertarians generally advocate a society with significantly less government compared to most present day societies.
Libertarian socialism	Variant of democracy; government ruled by a non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic society without private property in the means of production. Libertarian socialists believe in converting present-day private productive property into common or public goods, while retaining respect for personal property. Libertarian socialism is opposed to coercive forms of social organization. It promotes adhocracy and free association in place of government or bureaucracy, and opposes the social relations of capitalism, such as wage labor. The term libertarian socialism is used by some socialists to differentiate their philosophy from state socialism, and by some as a synonym for left anarchism.

41.

42. The meaning of the term civil society is contested. It is sometimes considered to include the family and the private sphere, and referred to as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business. ^[1] Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon defines civil society as 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government. ^[2] Sometimes the term is used in the more general sense of "the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society" (Collins English Dictionary). ^[3]

The term entered public discourse in the United States and around the world in the 1990s in effect of intensive work of communist propaganda in Poland. ^[4][5] However its tradition is much richer and longstanding.

Volunteering is often considered a defining characteristic of the organizations that constitute civil society, which in turn are often called NGOs, or NPOs. Most authorities have in mind the realm of public participation in voluntary associations, trade unions and the like, ^[6] but it is not necessary to belong to all of these to be a part of civil society.

43. F. POLITICAL CULTURE & MODERN CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

Modern constitutional democracy, as a functioning and enduring system of government, has worked quite well in some of the world's political societies, but has been less than a shining success in many others. Constitutional, representative democracy has been most hardy and resilient in six English-speaking societies--the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, and Great Britain (not including the Northern Ireland region)--and in certain West European societies, particularly Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries. In the post-World War II era, other West European countries and Japan have had appreciable degrees of success in establishing and maintaining constitutional democratic political regimes. Most African, Asian and Latin American societies, however, have encountered serious difficulties in their efforts to operate such regimes. In many of the non-Anglophone and non-West European societies, experiments with constitutional democracy have ended in complete failure, resulting in the emergence or reemergence of dictatorship. In some of these societies, efforts to establish and operate constitutional democratic regimes have never been made.

From the end of World War II in 1945 to the political developments of the late 1980s and early 1990s, virtually all of the political societies in East Central Europe and the Balkans were Communist-ruled one-party states, most of them puppet states whose regimes were installed and controlled by the Soviet Union. That vast chunk of the Eurasian land mass known, throughout the greater part of the twentieth century, as the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" was one big Communist-ruled one-party state. Despite recent developments in the former Eastern Bloc--the collapse of the Communist one-party regimes and the dissolution of the Soviet Union--it remains to be seen whether the countries located in East Central Europe, the Balkans, and the territory of the late U.S.S.R. can and will make the transition from authoritarianism to viable and enduring political regimes characterized by constitutionalism and the rule of law as well as the forms and processes of representative democracy.

Why are some societies more successful than others in developing and operating constitutional democratic political institutions? The cause of this difference among the political societies of the world lies primarily in political culture--in the variations in political culture from society to society. A society's degree of success in operating a governmental system that is both constitutionalist and democratic in character depends, to a very large extent, upon the nature and content of the political culture of that society. For constitutional democracy to work, the society's political culture must be compatible with and support the very concepts of constitutionalism, the rule of law, and representative democracy--as well as be consistent with and sustain the country's established, agreed-upon Constitution, including the constitutionally prescribed procedures for managing and resolving controversy over public questions, making and carrying out authoritative decisions on public policy, protecting the rights and liberties of citizens, and peacefully transferring governing authority from one group of political leaders to another.

What is a political culture? How does a person acquire a political culture? What is political socialization? What is the content of a political culture? What are basic political values and norms? What are basic political beliefs? What is the relationship between a society's political culture and its political regime? What type of political culture permits development and operation of and provides sustenance for a governmental system that is genuinely constitutional, representative, and democratic in character?

1. Political Culture--Definition and Description:

Political Culture--A Definition. Political culture, one very important aspect of a society's general culture, is concerned with (1) the nature and exercise of political power, (2) the purposes for which political power is employed, and (3) the distribution of political power within the society at large as well as within the society's governmental system. In a political society characterized by a relatively high degree of unity and stability (e.g., the U.S.A. or Great Britain), the political culture is that society's common and characteristic perspective, or outlook, regarding politics and government. The political culture consists of the basic orientations of the society's members toward their system of government and toward the acquisition, exercise, retention, and transfer of political authority. The political culture is comprised of fundamental political attitudes, values, beliefs, and feelings that are deep-seated in the society's general culture and widely shared by its population, including both the masses and the elites. These basic political attitudes, values, beliefs, and feelings are set ideas and views about political phenomena, including the normal and legitimate channels through which political conflict within the society is managed and resolved. They are a set part of the people's traditional and customary patterns of political thought and emotional reactions to political stimuli--their ingrained habits of mind and action in responding to political stimuli within their environment.

Political Socialization--How a Political Culture Is Acquired. The political culture of a society, like its general culture, is the product of experience and learning. A society's political culture is the result of (1) the entire society's past and present experience and (2) the personal learning experiences which help transmit the society's basic political attitudes, values, norms, beliefs, and views to each individual member of the society. The political culture, in other words, is the product of (1) the society's political history and development and (2) the process of political socialization to which all of the society's members are subjected.

Political socialization is the learning process by which a society's political culture is passed on from one generation to the next. Political socialization occurs through informal acculturation--the informal experiences which condition children and adapt adult immigrants to the political culture. The process is also carried on through formal acculturation--through deliberate, consciously planned programs of political education and indoctrination.

Generally, the most important instruments of political socialization are the family and the school. Other important agencies of political socialization include religious institutions, youth groups, and other formal organizations as well as the mass media and informal groups (e.g., peer groups and work associates).

In the U.S.A., the process of political socialization is, most of the time, carried on automatically and unconsciously. The individual members of American society are conditioned and programmed by their society and common culture to pass the culture--including the political culture--on to the youth, and to do this this without thinking about it. Normally, political socialization is a natural and intrinsic part of (1) child rearing in the home, (2) teaching and learning in the schools, (3) religious and moral training in church and synagogue-sponsored activities and programs, (4) activities of counselors and Scoutmasters in youth organizations, and (5) the exertion of influence by peer groups.

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