Americans Aren’t Practicing Democracy Anymore

Flashcards on the decline of democratic participation in America.

Acquired Habit of Democracy

The idea that democracy is not innate but a learned behavior, developed through constant repetition.

Dwindling Civic Life

Many Americans have either stopped practicing democracy or never acquired the habit, leading to negative consequences.

Associations

A common solution Americans applied to challenges, involving voluntarily binding together, adopting rules, electing officers, and making decisions by majority vote.

Checks and Balances

Executive officers are accountable to legislative assemblies, and independent judiciaries ensure compliance with rules.

Civic Participation Norm

Ordinary Americans could expect to find themselves suddenly asked to join a committee or chair a meeting.

Bowling Alone

Participation in civic groups and organizations declined significantly in the late 20th century.

Social Capital

Norms of reciprocity and networks of civic engagement.

Volunteerism, church attendance, and social-media participation

They do not inculcate the habits and rituals of democracy.

Donald Trump

Claimed America is rigged and the insiders wrote the rules to keep themselves in power and money.

Trump's securing nomination

Speaking directly to those voters who have the least experience with democratic institutions.

Democratic Governance

Willingness to adhere to settled rules, even when in the short term doing so ensures your opponent’s triumph and your own defeat, is the hardest of all democratic habits to acquire.

Schools of Self-Government

The best place to locate new schools of self-government, then, is schools. Students learn to govern themselves.

Civics + Extracurriculars

Greater knowledge of civics among high-school seniors correlated with a 2 percent greater likelihood of voting in a presidential election eight years later. Active participation in extracurricular activities, however, correlated with a 141 percent increase.

Automatic Voter Registration

When Americans turn 18, they should be automatically registered to vote.

Reengaging all Americans

Sacrificing some degree of efficiency, and displacing expert administrators with elected amateurs to harmonize discordant interests and empowering constituents.