In 1950, most middle-class men belonged to the Elks, Masons, Odd Fellows,
Kiwanis, Toastmasters, or Chambers of Commerce, while middle-class women
belonged to garden clubs, literary clubs, civic improvement societies, and the PTA.
These groups provided places for friendships to be forged, opinions expressed,
and political changes pursued. They were the primary schools of democracy—but
no longer.
In the mid-1970s, two-thirds of the adult American population regularly attended
club meetings. In the mid-1990s, it was one-third. The number who had attended a
public meeting on local or school affairs fell by a third.
The raw numbers of civic groups has actually increased, from around 8,000 in
1950 to just over 20,000 in 2000. But the new groups are not grassroots “third
places,” but advocacy groups involving far fewer people and little real contact.
Skocpol (1979) estimates that in 1955, 5 percent of the adult American population
was doing work for one or more of the largest voluntary associations. Today profes-
sionals do all of the work, and the “members” mail in checks. There are no local
offices. Group members rarely if ever meet each other in person. The national lead-
ers spend all of their time lobbying and fund-raising in Washington, not in commu-
nities with like-minded people.
What are the causes of the decline in civil society?
1.Increased mobility. Civil society meant joining local, home-town groups with peo-
ple you had known all of your life. Today fewer of us have home towns anymore.
We grow up moving as our parents’ jobs change, and we spend our adult years
moving from town to town with our own job changes. Why bother to push for
political change in this town, when we will be living somewhere else in two or
three years?2.Mass communication. TV and computers connect us on a
national and global level but tend to eliminate the local. One
newscast looks pretty much like all the others, and the 5 o’clock
news is followed by prime-time programming that is identical
everywhere in the United States and available around the world.
Location is even less relevant to the Internet. The result is that we
feel less connected to political issues; we wonder why we should
bother to push for political change in one location, when our
interests, concerns, and activities take place on a global stage.3.Commuting.With Americans working longer and driving longer
distances to and from work (with traffic jams that seem to occur
at every hour of the day or night), there are fewer hours left at
the end of the day to devote to club meetings.4.Two-income families.In earlier generations, most middle-class
women did not work outside the home, so they had enough free
time to take leadership roles in community and civic volunteerism.
Today most middle-class women have full-time jobs (and that
extra-long commute home), so they have little time to spare for
volunteering.Despite those factors that reduce civic engagement, we still need
friends, community, and a sense of the civic. Civility may change
because of long commutes and two-career families, but it hasn’t been
eliminated. Mobility means that we are unlikely to forge significant
social contacts with relatives (too far away), co-workers (they live on
EVERYDAY POLITICS 481In earlier generations, most
middle-class women did not
work outside the home, so
they had enough free time to
take leadership roles in com-
munity and civic volunteerism.
Today many more middle-class
women have full-time jobs,
so they have less time to
volunteer. n