"Why not call it a quality-of-life sector"? The Multiple Definitions of a Third Sector

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Discussion

Abstract

The passing of the late Lester Salamon has re-awakened discussion around the definition of the “third sector.” ISTR hosted a series of webinars discussing the nature and definition of the nonprofit sector, and the ARNOVA-L listserv saw a discussion in September 2023 that breathed new life into the debate.

John Casey from Baruch College (CUNY), who wrote the book The Nonprofit World, sparked the debate with a post in which he presented the dilemma that he is fully committed to nonprofit studies, but also intrigued by how so many colleagues in political science, sociology, economics, etc. choose not to use the common terms and language on nonprofits. He noted that in textbooks from these disciplines, the indexes often do not include an entry for "nonprofit", "third sector", "civil society", "philanthropy", etc. The example was a book by the sociologist Kevin Loughran: Parks for Profit: Selling Nature in the City (2022). The book is a review of how nonprofits have injected themselves into urban park management. Casey’s final query was whether he is right that several disciplines speak different languages regarding the definition of the third sector and what can/should we do about it?

Of the many scholars who contributed their thoughts, George McCully suggested calling the sector the "Quality of Life" sector for several reasons. The first is that this new label solves the negativity, heterogeneity, meaninglessness, substantivity, and counter-productivity problems of the "Non-Profit" rubric. The sector's main purpose is to focus on benefits— either to their members or to their beneficiaries. Second, “quality of life” accommodates and features philanthropy (private initiatives for *public* good), but this defines both the reason for this sector's tax-exemption and includes such self-serving entities as condo associations, professional and trade associations, country clubs, and other social organizations, real estate trusts, membership organizations, et al.

The beginning of the definition as a third sector of both the individual actions and organizational activities that benefit others as well as themselves dates back to the post-WW-2 and to the work of Lester Salamon (Salamon, L.,&Anheier, H. (eds) (1997). He defined the third sector as a collection of entities that are legal organizations, private, non-profit distribution, self-governing, and non-compulsory. Yet, some of these characteristics are now claimed as defining a “fourth sector” as the "social economy" or informal sector.

Against the background of the ambiguity in definitions and characteristics, we at the roundtable will present the multiplicity of definitions as they are characterized in the various disciplines while comparing continents. The participants represent a variety of backgrounds, geographies, and perspectives on the boundaries (if any) of the “third sector.”

Roundtable Composition:

The panel chair is Hadara Bar-Mor (Netanya Academic College, Israel),

Elizabeth Searing (University of Texas at Dallas, USA) will present the economic concept of the sector,

Mark Sidel (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) will present the legal concept,

Georg von Schnurbein (Universität Basel, Switzerland) will present the governance concept and

Ester Zychlinski (Ariel University, Israel) will present the social work concept.

References

Casey John, The Nonprofit World: Civil Society and the Rise of the Nonprofit Sector, (2015) Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.

Kevin Loughran: Parks for Profit: Selling Nature in the City, Columbia University Press (January 25, 2022)

Salamon, L.,& Anheier, H. (eds) (1997) Defining the Non-Profit Sector: A Cross-National Analysis. Manchester University Press

Sub Unit

• Third Sector organizations and civil society under different political regimes and contexts: role and regulations

Moderator

• Elizabeth A.M. Searing, University of Texas at Dallas

Presenters

• Elizabeth A.M. Searing, University of Texas at Dallas

• Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Georg von Schnurbein, University of Basel

• CASSIO AOQUI, Coletivo Labô