What is the difference between a for-profit society and a non-profit (NPO) society?
A. Societies can be either for-profit or non-profit organizations since the term, “society”, does not address the legal form of the organization. Rather, based on Hegel (1827), societies are forms of social association intermediate between the family and the state. The London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society’s working definition is: “Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated.” Some examples of societies include academia, the media, charities, foundations, cooperatives, trade unions, and religious organizations. Societies vary from non-profits with no paid employees to large corporations. Most organizations, whether a non-profit or for-profit, apply for an organization’s legal form based on the
