Resumo

FERNANDEZ SANTILLAN, José. Sociedad civil y capital social. Convergencia [online]. 2009, vol.16, n.49, pp.103-141. ISSN 2448-5799.

This document gives an insight to democracy from an opposite perspective of what is called neoinstitutionalism, which means it is oriented to analyze the process of democratization from the base of civil society, especially from what is known as social capital. Since the mid 80's, the theme of democracy from the perspective of civil society started to have more and more relevance. This tendency was reinforced by the fall of Berlin's wall in 1989 when it was said that the key factor for the liberation of countries in Eastern Europe, was precisely civil society. What is done here is an approach to democracy from a theoretical perspective that includes some classics like Hegel, Toqueville, Marx, and Gramsci and some contemporary authors like Jean Cohen, Andrew Arato, Marc Warren, and Axel Honneth. Regarding the subject of social capital we use particularly the ideas of Robert D. Putnam who affirms that the base of democracy and economical development is the fortification of circles of trust in civil society. This essay criticizes the so-called neoinstitutionalism as well as communitarianism and patronage.

Palavras-chave : democracy; civil society; social capital; communitarianism and patronage.