America Falling: Social Capital

To fully understand the gravity of these declines, we must first look at the history of these factors in American politics, as well as the general significance of social capital and political knowledge. Starting with social capital, I will first look at how, specifically, it has declined in America, what may account for these declines, and why these declines matter for American society. In regards to election turnout, what one researcher calls the "...most studied, most conjectured, and most important trend in the study of American government”, the figures are simply alarming. Although much of the data is incomplete and conjectural at best, most experts estimate that voter turnout was highest – hovering around eighty percent – in the second half of the nineteenth century. Comparing this data with the data from 2008, which is itself a forty year high, the twenty percent difference is incredible (McDonald). There are countless factors at play, but what is alarmingly clear is that ridiculously low numbers of eligible Americans find voting for their country’s chief executive not worth their time.

The decline, however, doesn’t stop with voter turnout; it has permeated itself in almost all aspects of American civil action. Fewer Americans now attend church than ever before, union membership is declining at an alarming rate, and even the Boy Scouts and Red Cross are becoming much smaller. Regardless of your feelings about these organizations, it is objectively disturbing that so many Americans are leaving them. They may be slightly less effective or relevant in today’s society, but I do not believe that they are so ineffective or irrelevant that those factors alone account for the decline in membership. What does account for the decline, in my opinion, is the technological revolution of the past two decades. From just my cell phone or computer, I can find out how my friends feel, what they are thinking, what they are doing, and even where, exactly, they are. I can simply send my Congressman any number of generic, pre-generated e-mails to tell them how I think they should vote on a certain bill. I can broadcast my opinions to the world, and read the broadcasted opinions of others, from the comfort of my computer chair. This is the new civic engagement, and it effectively renders much of the “old” definition of social capital irrelevant to today’s society.

In contrast, that “old” social capital is far from irrelevant. Clicking a button to join a group or show support for a cause does little to advance the mission of that group or cause except to give it slightly more clout by virtue of social proof. Just imagine if every member of “1,000,000 Strong for Health Care Reform” or T. Boone Pickens’ “New Energy Army” (more than 1.5 million people) marched on Washington. What if they even simply met in a town hall or some other organized setting every month? The face of American politics, and possibly even America itself, would almost certainly be much different. Furthermore, not much real discussion occurs through these new mediums, at least not nearly as much as occurred in the “old” forms of civic engagement. Even Plato must have understood the importance of a quality, face-to-face discussion on political or philosophical issues, considering that he chose to almost exclusively write dialogues.

It seems that Americans truly find the old social capital irrelevant in their society. This is the social capital that Robert Putnam argues is integral to the quality of public life, the performance of all social institutions, faster economic development, and more effective government. This is the kind of civil activity that Aristotle argues is necessary to even be considered part of the state. So, if indeed social capital is as important as others and I have argued, then America may soon see its decline of social capital lead to a decline in its global prominence and respect. Now that the problem and significance of America’s declining social capital has been explored, I will turn to the problem and significance of America’s waning political knowledge.

America Falling: Introduction

I'm back. Obviously, this isn't much of a weekly column anymore, but the name is catchy, so I'm not gonna change it. This is the introduction to a series about the two things I am most civilly passionate about: social capital and political knowledge in America. Enjoy.

In recent decades, American social capital has fallen to alarmingly low levels that would make classic political thinkers roll in their graves. Also, Americans perform abysmally on any kind of political knowledge test. These situations have implications on everything from the face of American politics to America’s leverage on the global economy, making them issues that absolutely must be addressed. However, nobody in Washington is attempting to address them, and there are now major grassroots movements attempting to increase American social capital or political knowledge. The raw statistics on these issues truly tell a story of a falling America.

On November 4, 2008, 61.7 percent of eligible Americans cast their vote for President of the United States (McDonald). Although markedly higher than other recent Presidential election turnouts, It is still extremely low in comparison to many European countries and, more importantly, early American voting turnout. Only thirteen percent of Americans in 1993 reported that they had attended a public meeting on town or school affairs (Putnam). Perhaps this would be understandable today, since the internet allows immediate access to information and immediate communication, but this survey is from before the early days of the web. Finally, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, only thirty-five percent of Americans score in the “high” category (at least fifteen correct answers to twenty-three questions) on a comprehensive, but relatively basic, political knowledge test. That means only slightly more than a third of American adults can score a “D” on a basic test about important people and issues of their country. In the rest of this series, I will further explore these and other statistics, analyze their meaning for America today, and attempt to provide some classical interpretation and commentary on these pressing issues.