Foundations in Turkey, Profit Nonprofit Social Policy Functions: “Social People”
Yasin YılmazSocial policy is a science that emerged in order to find solutions to negative effects of the industrial revolution. Family, religion, the workplace and market, state and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s) provide the functionality of social policy. NGO’s can also be called non-profit organizations. In our study, we will examine foundations, one of the non-profit organizations. Foundations have equivalents in many civilizations. However, Islamic civilization has had a great influence on the development of foundations because members of this civilization have an understanding of the compassion, solidarity, desire to live together, and most importantly, feelings of love, to do their work without profit. In this study, the understanding of foundations will be explained by Turks who are part of an ancient eastern civilization from past to present. In addition, the understanding of a foundation in western society as well as eastern society will be examined at the level of literature and a comparison will be made. Foundations in Turkish society were institutionalized after Islam and some of its first works were done during the Seljuk period. The study examined the two terms before and after the Republic. In the pre-Republic (Ottoman) period, foundations usually included a non-profit purpose. The social policy function of foundations in the Republic period will also be examined. Today’s data is based on the statistical data of the General Directorate of Foundations. In this qualitative study, the holistic approach was preferred, and a documentation method was used.
Türkiye’de Vakıfların, Kâr Amacı Gütmeyen Sosyal Politika İşlevleri: “Sosyal Millet” Anlayışı
Yasin YılmazSosyal politika sanayi devriminin olumsuz etkilerine çözüm aramak amacıyla ortaya çıkan bir bilimdir. Sosyal politikanın işlevselliğini aile, din, işyeri ve piyasa, devlet ve yerel yönetimler, sivil toplum kuruluşları (STK) sağlamaktadır. STK’larına kâr amacı gütmeyen kuruluşlar da denilebilmektedir. Çalışmamızda kâr amacı gütmeyen kuruluşlardan biri olan vakıfları inceleyeceğiz. Vakıfların birçok medeniyette karşılığı bulunmaktadır. Bununla birlikte İslâm Medeniyetinin vakıfların gelişiminde oldukça büyük bir etkisi bulunmaktadır. Zira merhamet, yardımlaşma, dayanışma, birlikte yaşama arzusu ve en önemlisi de sevgi duygularını barındıran bir anlayışa sahip olan bu medeniyetin fertleri, yaptıkları işleri kâr amacı gütmeden yapmaktadır. Çalışmada geçmişten günümüze, kadim doğu medeniyetinin bir parçası olan Türklerde, vakıf anlayışı izah edilmeye çalışılacaktır. Ayrıca doğu toplumunun yanı sıra batı toplumunda da vakıf anlayışı literatür düzeyinde irdelenerek doğu toplumu ile karşılaştırma yapılacaktır. Türk toplumunda vakıf anlayışının İslamiyet sonrasında nitelikli olarak kurumsallaştığı ve ilk eserlerini Selçuklular döneminde verdiği bilinmektedir. Çalışma, Cumhuriyet öncesi ve sonrası iki dönem olarak incelenmiştir. Cumhuriyet öncesi dönem genellikle Osmanlı döneminde vakıfların kâr amacı gütmeyen bir amaç içermesi, Cumhuriyet döneminde ise vakıf anlayışının sosyal politika işlevi irdelenecektir. Günümüz verileri Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü’nün istatistiki verilerine dayandırılarak aktarılmıştır. Bu nitel çalışmada bütünsel yaklaşım tercih edilmiş ve dokümantasyon yöntemi kullanılmıştır.
The human being, the most fundamental being of the state, is social. Nations, states, and civilizations can revive society only when their focus is on the human factor. Civilizations that revive society have advanced socially, economically, politically and technologically. Their level of prosperity has increased, they have provided peace of mind, have successfully maintained their relations with other civilizations, and left positive marks in the history of the world.
The Industrial Revolution revealed the social mind of Europe. Of course, a mentality with substance and interest will bring persecution. Although the liberal economic understanding is an apparently competitive understanding, it actually brought with it a wild exploitation. In this period, working conditions were unusually bad and wages were low. In addition to male workers, female workers and even children were exposed to heavy working conditions. The “Law on the Protection of British Children” was seen as a small step in the field of social policy in 1802, and it would be a start in the acquisition of other social rights. It would be Social Politics and labor economics that would prevent social disintegration during this period. In a narrow scope, Social Policy was a means of intervention in the relations between the worker and employer, but has expanded over time to include all disadvantaged groups and all social classes.
In the 1929 economic crisis, the liberal view was replaced by the Keynesian view. After the Second World War, social welfare states were formed and for the next 30 years this was its golden age until the late 1970s oil crisis. After this crisis, the state tried to reduce many of its social duties over time, through privatization, and this situation developed the non-profit organizations of the future. Among the countries of the world, the USA is one of the most important examples of a neo-liberal approach. It is expected that the efficiency of foundations will increase in a period when NGOs are getting stronger.
Foundations have existed in many cultures since it is also suitable for the creation of humanitarian aid without profit. Although there is not a very professional foundation system in Rome, it is seen that there is a foundation culture in Byzantium. However, it can be said that foundations gained their real identity through Islamic Civilization. The main reason for this is that the right to love and life for all living things is clearly recognized by the religion of Islam and that this right is clearly defended.
Islamic Civilization is human oriented and has an attached importance to social ties. With the order of the Prophet Muhammad, even if religious beliefs are different, kinship ties have not been broken. Islamic Civilization, where helping, doing good and dividing wealth is a religious duty, has linked these aid organizations to a systematic over time, even in the second (at the seventh year of the migration). This systematic is called habs, hubs, or “foundation” in the literature.
Foundations gained meaning when the Islamic Civilization existed in Turkey, during the Seljuk period, and reached its peak in the Ottoman period. Today, it has successfully carried out many socio-economic activities performed by states. The Ottomans further strengthened the foundation culture they inherited from the Seljuks. For this reason, foundations in the Ottoman period have many types in terms of their qualities and subjects.
The foundations weakened in parallel with the collapse of the Ottoman state. Foundations prevented the dispersion of the homeland for a while during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The empire was brutally criticized by some western undersecretaries, especially because of this function.
Foundations institutions, together with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, following the adoption of the Civil Code in 1926, protects a portion of the remaining foundations from the Ottoman era and the foundation established with the new term “new foundation” has been described. Both the increase in the population and the presence of a sense of solidarity and solidarity at the core of the Turkish Nation sustained the foundation institution.
The foundations, which took a large part in the economic life during the Ottoman period, served alone in many areas. This is a civil society movement that has never been in any western state until then. It is known that foundations functioned as a social policy tool in the Republican period parallel to the Ottoman period. It is possible to gather these functions under the titles of education, housing, social activity, social assistance, care services and health.
