In civil society there is no longer a single focal point in the social order, as in the politicized society in which the state, designs, directs and imposes an agenda to which all must conform and within which all are confined. Rather, in civil society there are as many focal points as individuals, who all design, shape and direct their own lives, guided by their own interests, ideals and passions. The network of exchange relationships include community endeavors, religious and church activities, cultural associations and clubs, professional organizations and charitable callings. Indeed, any relationship in which men find that they have common interests, goals or shared beliefs becomes the foundation for the emergence of exchange. And these exchanges involve agreed-upon terms for association and collaboration for mutual benefit and the enhancement of the quality, character and meaning of life for each participant.
Every free man belongs to numerous voluntary associations and institutions in the civil society.
And cumulatively these various social worlds of civil society, with all the relationships within each of them and between them, create what the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek called the spontaneous social order. But, equally important, these spontaneous institutions of society supported the individual throughout his life and helped to protect him from the power of the state. But in the 20th century, the state, as it has grown in power, has superseded or suppressed many of the private and voluntary associations of civil society. And as the relationships and activities of civil society have been diminished, political and politicized society has expanded. In other words, we have been reaming to the world of the ancients that Benjamin Constant contrasted with his modem world of the early 19th century.