Writers have noted the declining levels of social cohesion and civic participation in the United States, and the resulting hand-off of political influence to professionalized special interests with access to lavish resources. We all see the symptoms: a lack of civility in public discourse, shallow and propagandizing mass media, and the corruption of electoral and legislative processes.
Peter Levine's book is an important contribution to what I hope will be a rapidly growing literature on civic engagement. He calls for citizens to talk and listen to people different from themselves and thereby enlarge their understanding, build consensus, and then bring what they are learning into their work. He calls for work (both paid and unpaid) that is collaborative, where workers build civic relationships and together create things of public value. This combination of deliberation, collaborative work, and strong civic relationships defines the good citizenship that enables Americans to make progress on the many daunting problems of our society.
Going beyond lofty ideals, he fleshes out what civic engagement looks like with many examples. I particularly liked the example of Hampton, Virginia, where a non-partisan city government engaged citizens in a range of grassroots collaborative processes to improve the schools, foster better race relations, and plan the city's development. A key component of this was seeing citizens, especially youth, not as problems to be solved but as resources that can be developed and enlisted to solve them. One can see in such examples that approaches based on civic engagement tap the energies and talents of citizens, help them develop new skills, foster rich networks of relationships, and rebuild a sense of trust between citizens and their governing institutions. At the close of the book, Professor Levine suggests concrete ways of organizing the most active citizens of the US into a coherent national movement for civic renewal.
In an era of angry shouting matches, manipulative messages, and character assassination, we desperately need to come together and work on authentic solutions. Peter Levine's book is extremely helpful for those who share this sentiment and I hope it can persuade those who don't.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
