Some works of political philosophy and action belong on library shelves. Others have a home in the classroom and community. K. Sabeel Rahman and Hollie Russon Gilman’s Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis belongs in the latter . The book examines current problems with American democracy (inequities, disengagement, lack of trust) and proposes viable solutions to give communities and everyday citizens greater agency and voice. Critical and idealistic, Civic Power raises questions that are of real interest to institutions of higher education committed to community and civic engagement. It also will find favor with organizations, elected officials, and their staffs.
Rahman is a professor of law at Cornell University. Gilman, a political scientist and civic activist, heads up a participatory democracy project at New America’s political reform program. The authors begin the book by asserting that American democracy is in crisis. They review inequality and the exclusion of many from the political process, noting that the real issue is not about citizens engagement – it is about battles between organized interests. In other words, the very practice of democracy today can be inherently undemocratic. The common theories of why democracy is not more fully supported (people are less civil, decisions are not transparent, special interests have hijacked decisions) do not go deep enough, the authors argue. To get at real democratic reform, political power has to be reallocated. The aim of the work is to build an argument and support for civic power.
Civic power requires two components: new ways of organizing constituencies and new ways of structuring governing institutions and policy making. If structures of decision making are changed, it is then possible to connect movement with action, empowering people. The argument is simple and yet complex when one thinks about the many barriers to implementation. Power, after all, can be very difficult to channel or redirect.
The authors that civil society associations can do much on this front. Drawing on history and political scholarship, they see great promise in traditional organizations and organized labor in particular. The underlying challenge, though, is that these groups usually lack power over time – and that shifts in the last fifty years have chipped away at their impact. Add to that the “thin” influence of online organizations (a small donation is not the same as real face-to-face engagement), and a clearer sense of the problems emerge. Physical place, the authors emphasize, is a central concern. Civic power is often grounded in a shared physical space. Being and staying in or with one community is essential.
This book will make on think. Rahman and Gilman’s claims made me consider the highly educated technocrat, who may travel where ever their career takes them, and the folks whose commitment is to a long-term place-bound life. While explored in detail here, it may be a useful line of inquiry to help understand where and when there is trust as when there is not.
The second part of Civic Power studies governance. What sorts of “hooks and levers” might enable grassroots groups to have influence? The authors don’t look to voting and public opinion. Instead, they see opportunities in more radical and inclusive forms of policy-making. The administrative state, the privatization of government, and the civic tech movement have all been inadequate. For real innovation, the authors point to examples like the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM). These experiment are all about finding new ways to increase participation. Rahman and Gilman explain how MONUM sits within the city’s governing power structure, and how its influence and reach have grown. Other cities have tried similar experience, each depending upon the priorities of their mayor. Interestingly, the places where these experiments have taken root are wealthy and have come, primarily, through the preferences of a mayor.
What does thick participation look like? The authors argue for structured participation, with real influence on a question that truly matters to the community. Participatory budgeting serves as a good example. It happens in some US cities and around the world. Other initiatives have been connected to policing, civic investing, and community benefit agreements to shape urban development.
Civic Power concludes with a push for bottom-up organization and the creation of new political structures. The authors emphasize the importance of real community action and real levels of power. The efforts need to be in person and online; they are resource intensive and take time. Their message is optimistic, yet tempered with the sense of challenge.
I would like to share their enthusiasm. Civic Power is provocative and well-worth reading and considering. Moreover, it shines a powerful light on how democratic decision is and is not working today. It is possible to imagine institutions grounded in community, perhaps even community colleges, as vehicles to help facilitate broader engagement.
The recipe for rebuilding democracy, though, may be missing key ingredients. To make their arguments, Rahman and Gilman moved quickly past some of the messier, and deeply rooted, components of our current situation. At the top of my list of concerns is how people receive information, how they evaluate that information, and how communities respond to information overload without meaningful veracity. Are there reliable spaces for dialogue? For safe exchanges of ideas? Or do the power brokers and extremists shout everyone away? We all know that social media does not aid in the development of meaningful civil discussion. If anything, it speeds the opposite.
As trust in institutions and information decreases, the problems are compounded. What can lure people an institutions to be willing to innovate? I would have appreciated Civic Power all the more if more attention was given to these questions and the shaping of public opinion. A tall order, to be sure, but one that I believe has to be addressed if we are to go forward and build a stronger democracies.
David Potash