Voluntary Associations

Voluntary associations (also called voluntary organizations, secondary associations, or just associations) may be defined as groups that have some sort of formal organizational structure, made up of people who come together of their own will to pursue a common interest or goal.

Participation in associational activities gives members the chance to interact with others, with whom they may exchange information and advice on a given issue. Generally in associations, a network of social relationships is created, based on trust and common standards of reciprocity, also known as “social capital,” which can help facilitate processes of social cooperation both economically and politically.

For almost two decades, scientific and public debates have focused on the relationship between participation in associations and the quality of democracies. Scholars have concentrated particularly on the complex relationship between forms of public involvement in voluntary associations and the positive functioning of public institutions. This issue was first raised by Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835 and later taken up by Robert Putnam in 1993.

As stressed by the pluralist theorists of liberal democracy, associations play a vital role in the mediation of interests between citizens and the state. According to Putnam, the connection between the vitality of civic organizations and positive democratic functioning may be achieved in two main ways: first, by combining various demands of citizenship and turning them into political ones via appropriate democratic forms; second, by providing citizens with a kind of “school of democracy,” educating them toward collective action and civic engagement.

With regard to associations, many scholars have emphasized how the organizational models they adopt play a significant role in determining associations' capacity for action and their members' level of civic orientation. A phenomenon that has been particularly closely studied is associations' level of professionalism. For example, studying associations in the United States, Theda Skocpol observed that the expanded capacity for fundraising and the lobbying of political institutions has led to a major decrease in associations' interest in strategies directly involving the public as well as a general depoliticization of their activities. An overall tendency toward the professionalization of associations has been noted in almost all Western countries. On this point, scholars have often argued how, today, the professionalization of associations may be read as of one of the causes behind increasing political apathy among citizens (Eliasoph 1998; Lichterman 2006).

Individuals may join together in associations for a number of different reasons. Secondary organizations have emerged to protect the rights of certain special interest groups, as it is the case of workers' unions, or to allow people to profess and practice their own religious beliefs, as in the case of religious and church-based organizations. People also join together to take advantage of certain kinds of social activities and opportunities, such as in the case of sports associations, athletic and country clubs, popular music fan clubs, or car clubs. These are all voluntary activities that have also had an important impact on the nature of consumer culture.

As far as consumption is specifically concerned, the rise of consumers' associations has been [Page 1511]particularly important, as they have helped to considerably increase citizens' awareness of their rights and responsibilities with regard to their consumption practices.

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