November 10, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation, and What We Can Do About It
by Stephen Macedo and others
“American democracy is at risk,” write the authors in their opening chapter, not because of terrorism or some other external threat but as a result of Americans’ growing disaffection for politics and participation in civic affairs. In the pages that follow, Stephen Macedo, a professor of politics at Princeton University, and 18 other contributors, suggest how individuals, government, and nonprofit organizations can reinvigorate civic life.
They argue that the nonprofit world, which is growing in number of both organizations and volunteers, can play a vital role in reviving active citizenship. But they write that policy makers should do more to encourage political involvement by “tapping into the energy” of volunteers and helping to strengthen nonprofit organizations.
To that end, the authors say, government should pursue tax policies that encourage charitable donations, clarify rules surrounding nonprofit involvement in lobbying, and help labor unions organize more effectively. They also write that government should offer support to religious organizations while respecting the separation of church and state, expand the number of national-service programs, and increase good governance and transparency among nonprofit groups.
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.brookings.edu/; 228 pages; $17.95 paper; $44.95 cloth; ISBN 0-8157-5405-1.
