Framework for Democracy
One major role of nonprofit organizations is to protect the rights of the minority and to "mediate" the impact of government policies.
 James Luther Adams |
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James Luther Adams James Luther Adams (1901—1994), was a Unitarian parish minister, social activist, journal editor, distinguished scholar, translator and editor of major German theologians, prolific author, and divinity school professor for more than forty years. About this subject he wrote: “Nothing makes one long for water more than to be without it in a desert. The loss of the mediating structures that exist between the individual and state creates such a desert, one of the first things Adolf Hitler did after seizing power was to abolish, or attempt to abolish, all organizations that would not submit to control. These mediating structures I came to see as. . .indispensable. . .in a democratic society.”
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Lester M. Salamon |
Lester M. Salamon Professor Salamon is a leading expert on alternative tools of government action and on the non-profit sector in the U.S. and around the world. He has served as deputy associate director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and has taught at Harvard, Vanderbilt, and Duke Universities and at Tougaloo College in Mississippi. Dr. Salamon holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University and a B.A. in economics and policy studies from Princeton University. As referenced in the Scholars' View essay on the Learning to Give web site, Salamon is quoted stating: “…the existence of a set of institutions that is private, nonprofit, and self-governing has come to be viewed in this country both as a convenient way to meet community needs and as a crucial pre-requisite to a true "civil society.";
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Between government and the citizens, there are a large and diverse number of organizations whose role is to "mediate." Legal defense funds provide legal services for the poor; groups representing people with diseases and illnesses work with the government on research agendas, funding, and prevention; citizens concerned about public policies—such as drinking and driving, or vehicle safety—work to build a public consensus for social change. These and hundreds of similar groups nonprofit groups act as communication tools between government and its citizens.
