**4. Conclusion**

Civil society typically is thought of as distinct from government as well as private sector businesses. This is true in the way civil society organizations are formed, the incentives for persons who join them and, of course, their status in the tax code. But, as shown in the preceding discussion, the role of governments in promoting civil society organizations is quite central to their formation and preservation. The core rationale for governments promoting civil society is their contribution to a "public good," either through enhancing the sustainability of communities by providing services to them that government itself is less willing or less capable of providing, or by creating a mechanism to reduce zero-sum conflict between groups within a society. This becomes a rationale for maintaining their existence, but, perhaps even more importantly, it is a justification for public expenditures, which always involves coercion, usually through taxes, for their maintenance. For sociologists, who historically have correctly identified the important role of civil society organizations in maintaining a liberal democracy, it is essential to devote much more attention to the political and economic institutions and processes that promote them.
