Civic Engagement, Social Capital, and Democracy in America

Ever since the publication of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, the United Stateshas played a central role in

systematic studies of the links between democracy and civil society.

America has traditionally been considered unusually

"civic"

Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition," [EndPage 65] he observed,

"are forever forming associations.

public life and the performance of social institutions (and not only in America) are indeed powerfully influenced

norms and networks of civic engagement.

Researchers in such fields as education, urban poverty,unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse, and even health have discovered

successful outcomes are more likely in civically engaged communities

research onthe varying economic attainments of dierent ethnic groups in the United States has demonstrated

importance of social bonds within each group.

The norms and networks of civic engagement also powerfully affect

performance of representative government.

Systematic inquiry showed that the quality of governance was determined

longstanding traditions of civic engagement. (or its absence)

Voter turnout, newspaperreadership, membership in choral societies and football clubs—these were the hallmarks of

successful region

mechanisms through which civic engagement and social connectedness produce such results

better schools, faster economic development, lower crime, and more effective government—are multiple and complex

a framework that rests on the concept of

social capital

social capital"

refers to features of social organization such as networks,norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.

life is easier in a community blessed with a substantial stock of social capital

networks of civic engagement foster sturdy norms and encourage the emergence of social trust

networks facilitatecoordination and communication, amplify reputations, and thus allow dilemmas

of collective action to be resolved

When economic and political negotiation is embedded in dense networks of social interaction, incentives for opportunism are

reduced.

dense networks of interaction probably broaden the participants'

sense of self. enhancing the participants' "taste" for collective benefits

voter turnout had by 1990

declined by nearly a quarter

ach year over the last two decades reveals that since 1973 the number ofAmericans who report that "in the past year" they have "attended a public meeting on town orschool aairs" has

fallen by more than a third

he proportion of Americans who reply that they "trust thegovernment in Washington" only "some of the time" or "almost never" has risen steadily from

30 percent in 1966 to 75 percent in 1992

Church-related groups constitute the most common type of organization joined by Americans; theyare especially popular with

women.

religious sentiment inAmerica seems to be becoming somewhat less tied to institutions and more

self-defined

The1960s witnessed a significant drop in reported weekly churchgoing—from

roughly 48 percentin the late 1950s to roughly 41 percent in the early 1970s.

social disengagement in contemporary America that I have discovered is this:

more Americans are bowling today than ever before, but bowling in organized leagues has plummeted in the last decade or so.

Between 1980 and 1993 the total number of bowlers in America

increased by 10 percent, while league bowling decreased by 40 percent

For the vast majority of their members, the only act of membership consists in writing a check

for dues or perhaps occasionally reading a newsletter. Few ever attend any meetings of such organizations, and most are unlikely ever (knowingly) to encounter any other member.

tertiary associations

hetheory of social capital argues

that associational membership should, for example, increase social trust,

f the growth of tertiary organizations represents one potential (but probably not real)counterexample to my thesis, a second countertrend is represented

by the growing prominence of nonprofit organizations, especially nonprofit service agencies

some able researchers have argued that the last few decades have witnessed a rapid expansion

"support groups"

Some small/support groups" groups merely provide

occasions for individuals to focus on themselves in the presence of others

All three of these potential countertrends

tertiary organizations, nonprofit organizations,and support groups ( against the erosion of conventional civicorganizations.)

quantitative evidence on trends in socialconnectedness involves

formal settings, such as the voting booth, the union hall,

Why Is U.S. Social Capital Eroding?several possible explanations

1. The movement of women into the labor force.

2. Mobility: The "re-potting" hypothesis

3. Other demographic transformations

4. The technological transformation of leisure.

What Is to Be Done?

1. to call for more research.

2. sort out the dimensions of social capital

3. Another set of important issues involves macrosociological crosscurrents thatmight intersect with the trends

4. A rounded assessment of changes in American social capital over the last quarter-century

5. explore creatively how public policyimpinges on (or might impinge on) social-capital formation.

The concept of "civil society" has played

a central role in the recent global debate about thepreconditions for democracy and democratization.

democratic disarray may be linked to

broad and continuing erosion of civic engagement