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University Studies 114C: Ways of Knowing in the Social Sciences

Jessica Pham
October 10, 2011
Response Paper 3: Russell Dalton
Researches and scholars have claimed that American democracy is at risk due to the
decrease of citizen participation in politics. This is due to the idea that less people are voting and
partaking in public affairs. Too few of us are voting, we are disconnected from our fellow
citizens, we lack social capital and we are losing faith in our government (77). Russell Dalton,
author of Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation, argues in his article
that American involvement in politics has not decreased, but has shifted from a duty-based
society to an engagement-based one.
The two forms of political involvement are duty and engagement. In previous
generations, duty was the norm of political participation. Duty involves voting during elections
or for measures and social order. It also involves having juries and serving in the military. In a
democracy, it is important for the people to vote because it provides a way for them to express
their opinion. Although voting is a privilege given to citizens, it is also a duty. Duty-based
norms of citizenship encourage individuals to participate as a civic duty, which may simulate
election turnout and participation in other institutionalized forms of action (85). Without people
voting, the government would be less of a democracy because decisions will be made without
public consent. An example of this may be approving a measure that many feel is not acceptable
but they do not vote. Because they do not cast their votes, they give up their right to express their
dislike towards the measure.

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On the other hand, recent generations of Americans are leaning towards engagement as
their form of participation in politics. Engaged citizens are involved in boycotts, strikes, and
working with other groups so that their voices will be heard. People form their own opinions. An
example of this would be Occupy Portland. Banning big corporations from making excessive
amounts of money had not been an option where voting is applicable. Lower class people had to
create groups and strikes to express their concern for the economy. As shown in Table 2:
Dimensions of Democratic Citizenship of his article, Dalton indicates that having a duty-based
citizenship alone will not cover all of the principles that America needs to sustain. It only covers
values such as voting and reporting a crime or obeying the laws. Engagement is what will cover
the rest of the principles needed in good citizen.
Dalton disagrees with the theory that Americans are losing their involvement in the
government and the decisions that are made. He argues that, America is witnessing a change in
the nature of citizenship and political participation leading to a renaissance of democratic
participation rather than a decline in participation (85). Previous researchers have disregarded
the fact that other forms of participation are evolving. Although there is a change in the way that
citizens express their opinions, it does not mean that the importance of duty-based citizenship
has disappeared. Dalton reasons that the American society is only shifting away from it and that
they are equally important. As indicated in Figure 1: The Importance of Citizenship Norms, all
of the values that Americans consider the norm come from both duty-based and engagement.
Obeying the law (duty-based) and forming opinions (engagement-based) are examples of
important values to Americans.
Engagement is becoming more relevant because it gives citizens more control over what
is going on in the society. Citizens involved in engagement can create changes in politics that

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they feel needed to be made as soon as possible. After being misled several times, such as the
Bush administration involvement in Iraq, Americans have less trust in the government and so
being an engaged citizen will provide the opportunity to make changes without waiting for
Election Day to cast their opinions. This may include removing a mayor where many feel are
corrupting the government or changing a measure that was previously approved. Also, for those
decisions that are made without the public consent, Americans are able to pull together and
protest against it. For example, in 2010, schools around Portland, such as my high school
(Benson Polytechnic High School), were in danger of receiving dramatic changes that would
affect all attending and future students. Crowds of students from school gathered together and
rallied against the decision. After constant persistence against the school district, Benson was
able to win the protest and continue as it has been for decades. More educated people are able to
understand the value of participation and so doing actions such as working together in groups
and protesting, they are getting involved in decisions made. As people have become more
educated, politically skilled and policy orientate and accept engaged citizenship, they seek
difference means of influencing policy (85). The act of partaking in politics has now broadened
from having a single-based society to one that provides more options and involvement of the
citizens.