When lawmakers, advocates and journalists talk about fixing American democracy, they typically focus on the institutions that shape the nation’s political life. If only we reformed the Electoral College, they suggest, our presidential elections would be fairer and our democracy would work better. Or if only we adopted term limits for Supreme Court justices. Or adopted ranked-choice voting. Or reformed money in politics. And so on.
Make no mistake, all of these ideas have merit and would, without question, improve American democracy. But even the adoption of this entire slate of proposals would not fix everything that ails the American political system. Institutional reforms can only go so far unless the nation also re-imagines its civic culture, the often-overlooked force shaping democracy. Until national and local leaders make a concerted effort to improve it, the threats to democracy will persist.
Civic culture refers to how people live together and treat one another. In a healthy civic culture, people feel a sense of common purpose. They recognize what unites them, take time to serve their community and can disagree with one another while still recognizing what they have in common.
An unhealthy civic culture, well, looks a lot like American society today. While most Democrats and Republicans say they support the core values underlying American constitutional democracy, only about a third believe members of the other party do so. Compared to 10 years ago, Americans of all political persuasions report feeling less free to speak about politics, race and current events due to fear of public criticism. And rates of volunteering and civic participation have declined, suggesting people are becoming more withdrawn from public life.
Earlier this year, a diverse, interdisciplinary working group convened by the American Çï¿ûÊÓƵ of Arts and Sciences met over six months to discuss how to improve America’s civic culture. A new report captures the group’s insights into what makes a healthy civic culture, why it’s central to American constitutional democracy and how to foster it in our communities.
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Betsy Super is a program director at the American Çï¿ûÊÓƵ of Arts and Sciences, where she leads the implementation of the recommendations in the "Our Common Purpose" report.
Eunice Lin Nichols is co-CEO of CoGenerate and a member of the group that produced "Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture," an Our Common Purpose publication.