Lesson 2:

institutional
perspective
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introduction
Institutions
are the core establishments that bind
people toward a specific advocacy or
goal. The citizens are bound by
institutions that have been significant in
the formation of norms, mores, and rules
we abide by every day.
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✖
Institutions are grand social structures that
are made up by individuals which, when
viewed as a whole, exhibit patterns of
behavior that create conventions and norms
in our society. Institutions also set patterns
of behavior by motivating and restricting
conduct by set of rules and regulations.
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✖
These social structures are considered as
social creations whose meaning and
importance depend on its members.
Structures may seem to be too robust for it
to change, but this is not the case.
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Each institution has its own definitive attribute. Social

institutions are, in itself, a developing network of
systems and functions.
GOVERNEMENT INSTITUTIONS
 7

The Leviathan By: Thomas Hobbes

A Social contract is simply an agreement

between a master and a subordinate
under prescribed ruled of conduct and
rights.

It stems from the assumption that

humans are born into a state of nature
which is a condition devoid of social or
political links.
 .
,
,
.

A person is then considered under a state of

anarchy until they gain a grounded
understanding of reality through reasoning
and self-interest.

A government is born from the social

agreement among the governed and by
virtue of compliance and reinforcement,
the state gain legitimacy through its
processes.
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LAWS AND
CONSTITUTIONS

Guided by Laws and Constitutions, the government can create

sweeping policies and laws that cam alter from the simplest
factors to all-encompassing decisions. Given this power and
authority, people are often misguided by the assumption that
the government doesn’t need the support of the people
because of its vast resources and monopoly and power.
STATE POWER AND ITS LEGITIMACY COME FROM THE WILL OF THE
PEOPLE IT GOVERNS.

Its contract is constantly being challenged, contested, and affirmed

throughout its effective period to rule.

True to other governments who have embraced democracy power is

bestowed to the people in recalibrating the brand of politics they
experience.

The citizens have the obligation to check the power or the

government and counteract any misuse thereof. Our duty to our
country is to work toward improving its current state and out fellow
men through active participant and vigilance.
 .
Economic Institutions

.
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Economic Institutions

Economists see instituitions as the mechanism in which

goods, services and money are distributed.

In economics, goods are scarce and considered to be finite.

In a market system, these are transacted by actors whose

.

actions are dictated by the law of supply and demand

To simplify, we must look

into specific actors’ needs
and wants relative to the
availability of that specific
goof or service being sought
for.
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INVISIBLE HAND.

Adam Smith coined Milton Friedman Friedrich Hayek

The “Invisible Hand”. It
guides each decision
within a free-market
economy, creating an
efficient system.
 The two major branches in economics:
MICROECONOMICS AND MACROECONOMICS
MACROECONOMICS, on the other hand,
MICROECONOMICS is concerned
deals with individual agents’ collective actions
about the behavior of individual actors
corresponds
and their patterns of consumption.

There are various ways on how economists categorize consumers ad producers

depending on various factors such as size, class and sector.
 Wealth distribution is said to be a natural occurrence in a case when
an economy of a certain country is on the rise, its citizens are also
expected to feel an improvement in their quality of life.
Once production rises due to a rising demand, wages also rise, so as
the buying power.
This will; be the case if we were to follow the Trickle-down economic
theory. (which isn’t fair at all)

Trickle-down economics, or “trickle-down

theory,” states that tax breaks and benefits for
corporations and the wealthy will trickle
down to everyone else. It argues for income
and capital gains tax breaks or other financial
15
benefits to large businesses, investors, and
entrepreneurs to stimulate economic growth
 16

If the invisible hand is true, then why is it that there are inequality
and inability of people to have access to the most basic services?
Exploitation
The volatility caused by the lack of regulative systems will open vulnerabilities that can
be used to have a definitive advantage over others, thus creating distribution
inequalities across economic classes.

The relationships that are intertwined by the laws of consumption can be calibrated by
the oversight of other institutions, and this can be done if we try to look further than
our roles as consumer and producers.

The volatility - The speed or degree of change in prices is called volatility.

The good news is that as volatility increases, the potential to make more
money quickly also increases. The bad news is that higher volatility also
means higher risk
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Religious institutions
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Religious institutions
In thousands upon thousands of years, men have sought for meaning.
We have looked upon heavens and tried to understand the depth of the
oceans. As we looked for these pursuits in our introspection of
existence, we have found faith.
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Today’s society emphazises on the importance of religion as

communal experince. In many communities, activities are still tied
to the concepts and teachings of their faith. The philippines is one
good example to bring this point home. our culture is bridled with
influences from roman catholic church.
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The heart of the community was primarily the church, while the state was
the brain that managed the community. This is no longer the case in
the present because of the separation of church and state, but we can
still feel the impact of religious institutions in other forms, such as
through foundations and nongovernmental organizations.
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✖
Though outside the sphere of the government, religious
institutions have a huge impact in filling gaps where the
reaches of the government fail to grasp. Many of their
projects focus on rural communities and the poor, where
social services coming from the government stretch as far
as it should. These communities often hold feeding
programs and medical missions to help citizens who are
in need.
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✖
As one society, we follow codes of conduct that are
intertwined with our core belief systems. Religious
institutions are here to be constant reminder that values
and mores are grounded on spirituality.
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Educational institutions
Education takes up a quarter of our whole lives. Our
whole development from infancy to adulthood
incubates within the ivory towers of educational
institution.
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✖
Basic education paves the way for individuals to be
functional in our society. Generally, the task of the school
system is to arm us with the needed skills and knowledge
in relation with the demand of our environment. Students
are expected to learn within the given system designed to
stimulate the conditions outside it.
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family institutions
Our own families are considered as the building blocks of
our society.
 27

For Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the

foundations on which the family is created
can be traced back to economic traditions
whereby the structure and roles of each
member were derived from the resources
available to the household.
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Later on, the family and how it was structured is now understood as
more of a social design that is due to complex functions of each
member that come together to form the foundation of a
relationship. This structural functionalist view is now widely
accepted in the study of communities. It is now used to draw
patterns of behavior within institutions and social groups. At the
center of every society is the family, and it is where the community
and our society draw strength from.
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Lesson 3
Civil Society
Perspective
Introduction of Civil
Society
 31

✖ Civil Society is broadly understood as

the combination of organizations,
establishments, and individuals that
operate outside the influence of the
governmental institution
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CLUBS
VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
CHURCHES
NEIGHBORHOOD
COMMUNITY
BASKETBALL TEAM
FAMILY AND FRIENDS

CIVIL SOCIETY
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✖ Civil society is commonly referred to

as the "third sector" with the
government and private sectors as the
other two.
 34

✖ The civil society in the Philippine

context is all about the spirit of
community service

Communal Spirit-
It is the willingness and desire to
participate in activities that
promote a community.
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Importance of Civil Society:

✖ All of the civil society groups, organizations and institutions help

connect people to their communities.

• Form bonds, relationships, and friends

• This is where we build a good-fellowship
• This is where we become educated
• WE BECAME MORE CIVILIZED AND
RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL
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Manifestations of civil society

Groups
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✖ The emergence of civil society groups is well received by development

practitioners in varied forms. Such groups are formed based on the
customs and norms of the prevailing society.

✖ Since people have the liberty to do such, the groups act like leverage for
particular individuals to be with like-minded citizens.

✖ An individual alone will not have the same lobbying power as when he
or she is with a group that has more social capital as an enabler.

Social Capital – a set of shared values that allows individuals to work

together in a group to effectively achieve a common purpose.
✖ Diversity is the fitting word to describe the world of civil society groups.
 38

Role of civil society organizations

A civil society organization (CSO) is a group of people
that operates in the community in a way that is
distinct from both government and business.
 39

✖ The role of civil society organization (CSO) is a very essential

part of our liberal society. CSOs are composed of various actors,
such as other groups, organizations, or institutions that come
together to attain a particular goal that is vitally for the greater
good of society.

✖ When thinking about the role in which people, organizations,

and the state come together, forming the structures and
functions that make up the fixture of our society, we have to
look in the gray areas between these relationships to explore the
importance of CSOs in the social milleu.
 40

✖ State power may be seen by some as absolute. People under the

power of the state are subject to its whims and decisions. CSOs
are the entity that somehow balances this kind of power.
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✖ Power is the most essential thing to study in these terms because

the strength of social groups only relies on how their
environment allows power to flourish.
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NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS
A non-governmental organizations are any non-
profit, voluntary citizen’s group which is organized
on a local, national or international level.
 43

Examples:
UP Babaylan, the group is the first LGBT
student organization in the Philippines. It is
the only LGBT support and advocacy
student group in the University of the
Philippines
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Social movement
This are a type of group action. They are large, usually
informal, groupings of individuals or organizations
which focuses on specific political or social issues.
 45

Example:
Pro-choice Movement is a
sociopolitical movement in the United
States supporting the view that a woman
should have the legal right to an
elective abortion, meaning the right to
terminate her pregnancy, and is part of a
broader global abortion-rights movement.
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Interest groups
Also known as advocacy group, is a body which uses
various forms of advocacy in order to influence public
opinion and/or policy.
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Example:
Center for Media Freedom and
Responsibility (CMFR) is a private, non-
stock, non-profit foundation that has focused
its endeavor on press freedom protection
along with the establishment of a framework
of responsibility for its practice.
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORG

Directly appointed by the government to carry out its duties
for a specified goals. It is considered to be permanent as long
as the state deems it is necessary.
Example:
Department of Social Welfare and Development
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INTL. GOVERNMENT ORG

Institutions that are broader than the NGOs and
government organizations. It solicit its operational
budget from its member states and groups.
Example:
United Nations
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LOCAL NON-GOVERNMENT ORG

It exists outside the control of the state and mostly have a
specific concern or problem. They strive to solve society
problems by engaging them from the bottom up.
Example:
Gawad Kalinga
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INTL. NON-GOVERNMENT ORG

Organizations that are reinforced by other groups,
philanthropists, and pressure groups that share their own
sentiments and advocacies. Their advocacies are more
specific, direct, and issue-based.
Example: Greenpeace