Sociale polarisatie en middenveldparticipatie in de 17e en 18e eeuw 1 Club life on the Hageland countryside. Social polarization and participation in the 17th and 18th century This article aims at examining lay clubs and religious associations in rural seventeenth and eighteenth century Brabant, by testing some recent sociological conclusions concerning present social life. While the structures of lay clubs where more democratic, religious clubs were less open. All members of lay clubs were enabled to participate in the administration of their association. Also, frequent social interaction in such societies promoted horizontal values among their members. In religious clubs, interactions between board and members where based on hierarchal relations, and only vertical relations where stimulated. Membership of lay associations was limited in a way as well: a refined pattern of manners distinguished members of lay societies already in the fifteenth century. This social separation was consolidated in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, as poor inhabitants were excluded from the lay societies. 82 » Maarten F. Van Dijck 2 De resultaten werden gepubliceerd in: M. Hooghe, Sociaal kapitaal in Vlaanderen. Verenigingen en democratische politieke cultuur (Amsterdam 2003). Het hele onderzoeksrapport is te vinden op: M. Elchardus, M. Hooghe en W. Smits, 'Tussen burger en overheid. Een onderzoeksproject naar het functioneren van het maatschappelijk middenveld in Vlaanderen. Samenvatting van de onderzoeksresultaten: Deel 1: Oorzaken en gevolgen van middenveldparticipatie'. april 2000.
Civil society is widely considered as a crucial element in contemporary society. Academics and policy makers have traditionally associated it with voluntary associations and organizations, assuming that associational life is an ideal intermediary between citizens and government. While members of associations form large social networks, which they can mobilize at critical moments, the conviviality of group sociability fosters the development of a set of common values, such as a democratic political culture and other civic virtues. Its origins are generally situated in the eighteenth century, and are mostly attributed to secularization, Enlightenment thinking, the birth of the “public sphere,” and growing emancipation from oppressive structures such as the church and the state.
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