In 2007, the United Nations released a report “The Wealth of Nations” in which economists tried to account for the wealth of a nation or economy. What they discovered is that for wealthy nations, over 50% of its wealth is comprised in its institutions – courts, legal system, education system and political system. These systems are the keystones that allow civil society to function.

Thus the reason a business in the United States is valued higher than a business in Albania is not just market size and market-place wealth, but its value rests in the institutions which support it and create the environment in which it works. It is these intangible structures that hold most of the value.

For 2 years we have seen how civil society is completely undermined by corruption – paying police to file or not file reports, buying court decisions, paying bribes to get individuals at public and private agencies to do their job, and watching politicians that use public office to promote their own business or their friends business at the expense of the common good of citizens.

Truly civil society is a fragile thing that must be vigorously protected.