NOVAS FORMAS DE RELACIONAR AUTORIDADE E SOLIDARIEDADE: QUESTÕES TEÓRICAS E EMPÍRICAS^*

Abstract:

The article combines both a theoretical discussion and an empirical analysis in an attempt to deal with ongoing changes in theory and in practice. Taking ideas and actions as interwoven components of social processes, I discuss a broad intellectual change and an empirical institutional innovation as phenomena that mirror each other. At the theoretical level, I look at the tendency to approach society in ways that differ from old established canons. I contend that the resurgence of civil society in the public discourse, the rise of new social movements, the emergence of cosmopolitan ideals are some of the indications of transformations that have demanded new theoretical lenses for social scientists. At the empirical level, I focus on the world of Non-Governmental Organizations as something that somehow illustrates the new image of society. I suggest that the elevation of such organizations to the condition of either partners or alternatives to authority mechanisms point to a new way of framing the relationships between state and society.

Keywords: Solidarity and authority; State; Market; Society; Non-governmental organizations