Democracy, Heal Thyself?

The question facing those of us concerned about social capital and citizen participation is this:
How quickly and how effectively can we reverse the erosion of civic life? After all, American
history is replete with good-government reforms that have unintentionally driven down
participation, or at least cheapened it. Primary elections and ballot reforms in the Progressive Era
sought to root out corruption but had the curious effect of enfeebling party machines, which had
played a valuable role in getting new citizens, poor people, and blue-collar workers to the polls.
Post-Watergate campaign finance reforms sought to reduce the influence of private money in
politics but instead may have exacerbated the problem through attractive loopholes that “special
interests” now exploit. Similarly, as the political journalist David Broder has recently argued,
ballot initiatives  – a Progressive era innovation aimed at increasing direct citizen control over
policy making  – are now  “derailing democracy” by allowing millionaires and special-interest
groups to take divisive issues “to the people” without giving them enough information or time to
deliberate about the complex decisions that have been forced on them.
Besides noting the problem of unintended consequences, some scholars have questioned whether
government can or should seek to bolster social capital. Some conservatives have argued that, if
only government would back away, virtuous volunteerism would flourish.  For their part, some
liberals have argued that citizen groups need to keep their distance from government lest these
groups be co-opted and their causes undermined. We recognize that there are powerful reasons to
maintain a healthy separation between government and the non-governmental instruments of
democratic participation. Excessive entanglement, whether financial or programmatic, in some
cases may crowd out voluntary action or inhibit civic expression. Yet, even though the
relationship between government and civil society may sometimes be tense or adversarial, we
nonetheless believe that each has a role in strengthening the other. Our recommendations are
designed to create synergy between governmental and non-governmental organizations to the
benefit of both.