In an ideal society with perfect government, there would be a perfect combination of public social commitment, private interest and government intervention that would maximize the benefit to the company. This perfect combination is unattainable and unknowable because it could only occur in an ideal society with perfect individuals. Unfortunately, today's society is not ideal and does not have perfect individuals. Therefore, there is an ongoing debate about the right combination of public social commitment and government intervention. A combination is definitely needed because society cannot function without government intervention, a laissez-faire attitude or if there is total state intervention as in a communist government. For a highly functioning, strong and successful society to exist requires strong public commitment, some government intervention with respect to economic needs and some social concerns, and the public interest must be a priority. A strong and free democratic society cannot exist without public engagement in social concerns to promote democratic traditions. Civil society is a “realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self-generating, (largely) self-sufficient, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal system or set of shared rules” (Diamond 146). Civil society must be active because it performs many functions to promote a democratic society. A strong civil society serves four important functions: 1.) “[contains] the power of democratic governments, controlling their potential abuses and violations of the law” (Diamond 147). Civil society does this by “monitoring democratic states and identifying where it is necessary to limit the exercise of their power” (Diamond 147). Making this force... halfway down the paper... c, far from strong. As long as humans have different beliefs, no one will be able to agree on a perfect government. However, for a strong, free and democratic society to exist there is an equation we can look at: a strong, free and democratic society = strong public commitment + a pinch of government involvement + public interest – private interest. If these factors are introduced into a society, the result will be the free society that many desire. Works Cited Diamond, Larry. Towards democratic consolidation. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011. 145-153. Print.Friedman, Milton. Excerpt from Capitalism and Freedom. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011. 216-227. Print.Krugman, R. Paul. The return of depression economics. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011. 229-233. Press.