Decentering America's Nonprofit Sector: Reflections on Salamon's Crises Analysis

Salamon argues that the nonprofit sector is the core or center of civil society. He correctly diagnoses the nonprofit sector's problems but his proposal to hold the center through sectoral renewal and a partnership model of state–nonprofit relations is problematic. This is the case in part because the effects of economic globalization are reducing nation-state autonomy. In addition, fragmentation of social identity in a postmodern era challenges sectoral legitimacy, while devolution and localization of social welfare responsibilities reduce nonprofit effectiveness. On the basis of U.S. evidence, I argue that, rather than trying to hold the center, we should decenter the nonprofit sector—away from dominant institutions, powerful groups, and privileged places—and join the margins in an effort to weave a new, more humane and inclusive social contract.