NPO法成立以前の市民活動の特性 : 1970年代～ 80年代初期に設立された環境系および福祉系市民活動団体の文献比較を通じて

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the characteristics of citizen activities before the enactment of the Law to Promote Specified Nonprofit Activities, and on the basis of the collected data, to present the author’s views regarding the concept of citizen activities and the systematization of such activities. I analyze the publications of environmental organizations and welfare organizations published with the assistance of the Toyota Foundation from the 1970s through the first half of the 1990s. Citizen activities of that time are generally understood to be the starting point of NPOs. The analyzed data reveals that citizen activities at that time have the same factors as “New Social Movements”, and present the characteristics of NPOs. In addition, the systematization of citizen activities has resulted in both the actualizing and solving of social problems. As a result, it is clarified that the starting point of current criticism of NPOs is the structure of welfare organizations. In conclusion, the analysis indicates the concept of citizen activities and the social meanings of the systematization of these activities.