Cover: Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics, from Harvard University PressCover: Voice and Equality in PAPERBACK

Voice and Equality

Civic Voluntarism in American Politics

Product Details

PAPERBACK

Print on Demand

$50.00 • £43.95 • €45.95

ISBN 9780674942936

Publication Date: 09/26/1995

Short

664 pages

6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches

illustrations

World

Add to Cart

Media Requests:

Related Subjects

This book confirms Alexis de Tocqueville’s idea, dating back a century and a half, that American democracy is rooted in civil society. Citizens’ involvement in family, school, work, voluntary associations, and religion has a significant impact on their participation as voters, campaigners, donors, community activists, and protesters.

The authors focus on the central issues of involvement: how people come to be active and the issues they raise when they do. They find fascinating differences along cultural lines, among African-Americans, Latinos, and Anglo-Whites, as well as between the religiously observant and the secular. They observe family activism moving from generation to generation, and they look into the special role of issues that elicit involvement, including abortion rights and social welfare.

This far-reaching analysis, based on an original survey of 15,000 individuals, including 2,500 long personal interviews, shows that some individuals have a greater voice in politics than others, and that this inequality results not just from varying inclinations toward activity, but also from unequal access to vital resources such as education. Citizens’ voices are especially unequal when participation depends on contributions of money rather than contributions of time. This deeply researched study brilliantly illuminates the many facets of civic consciousness and action and confirms their quintessential role in American democracy.

Awards & Accolades

  • 2002 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, Uppsala University

Share This

Racism in America: A Reader, edited by Harvard University Press, with a Foreword by Annette Gordon-Reed, available for free download in PDF, EPUB, and Kindle

Recent News

Black lives matter. Black voices matter. A statement from HUP »

From Our Blog

Photograph of the book Fearless Women against red/white striped background

A Conversation with Elizabeth Cobbs about Fearless Women

For Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the work of Elizabeth Cobbs, whose new book Fearless Women shows how the movement for women’s rights has been deeply entwined with the history of the United States since its founding. Cobbs traces the lives of pathbreaking women who, inspired by American ideals, fought for the cause in their own ways