Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
-
importance
of associations among citizens
o
not
just political associations (e.g., parties, interest groups)
o
civic
associations (e.g., clubs, leagues, societies, businesses)
-
civic
associations create public and quasi-public goods
o
Cf.
-
Democratic
life is strengthened by depth of civic associations
o
“Feelings
and opinions are recruited, the heart is enlarged, and the human mind is developed
only by the reciprocal influence of men upon one another.”
o
Avoids
dependency on government and risk of centralized tyranny
o
Citizens
learn to organize and to discuss politics
-
Newspapers
(periodicals) and civic associations
o
Mutually
reinforcing relations between press and associations
§
Associations
create demand for information
§
Information
creates demand for associations
o
Local
participation in associations creates demand for local presses
-
Political
associations (parties, interest groups) create demands for civic associations
o
“Political
associations may therefore be considered as large free schools, where all the
members of the community go to learn the general theory of association.”
o
Socialize
citizens into gather and discussing political issues
-
Equality
and self-interest rightly understood
o
Americans
“born equal” compared to
§
No aristocracy
§
No
primogeniture (estates divided upon owner’s death)
o
Enlightened
self-interest: my best interest is served by helping others
§
“Most
all the actions of their lives by the principle of self-interest rightly
understood; they show with complacency how an enlightened regard for themselves
constantly prompts them to assist one another and inclines them willingly to
sacrifice a portion of their time and property to the welfare of the state.
§
Not
‘invisible hand’ but normative commitment
Implications of
Tocqueville Today
-
Vibrant
civil society and associational life vital to democracy
o
Decline
in associational life harms democracy
o
Decline
in political participation harms associational life
-
Putnam’s
“Bowling Alone” Thesis
o
Social
capital is declining in US
o
Social
capital: “features of social organization such as
networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation
for mutual benefit.”
o
Less local voluntary & cooperative activity in US
-
Effects of declining social capital
o
Greater reliance on state
o
Less cooperation outside state control
-
Can the market aspects of civil society substitute?
o
Industrialization and corporate centralization undermine local
associations
§
National
and multinational stock-based companies unlike local firms and associations
§
No
face-to-face contact locally, no community
o
Economic
forces may diminish social capital
§
“symbolic
analysts” ‘secede’ from rest of society (R. Reich)
§
“creative
class” creates “geographic and class segmentation” (R. Florida)
·
“tolerance,
talent and technology”
·
“quasi-anonymity”
of creative class
§
low-density
car-driven culture drives economic growth (E. Glaeser)
·
no
sense of local community
§
individualism
substitutes for community
·
Advertising’s
ideology of individualism (M. Miller)
-
Politics
as the Cause of Associational Decline?
§
plebiscitary presidency (T.
Lowi)
·
president relies more on personal appeal and
campaign organization than party
§
decline
in local party influence v. national control (centralization)
·
focus
on fund-raising rather than volunteerism
·
fund-raising
centralized
·
primaries
and caucuses diminish local party role at national convention
§
less
political competition due to gerrymandering
·
less
interest or need for local activism
§
political
associations no longer “teach” ‘general theory of association’