Habits of the Heart I: Citizen Participation and Public Trust (Summer Reading)

I recently read an important social science classic, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life by Robert N. Bellah, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton (Univ. of California Press, 1985; second edition 1996). Among other things, Habits of the Heart has a great deal to say about the subject that forms the heart and soul of government ethics:  public trust.

Lack of Trust
The authors talk about the effects of a lack of trust in government and politics. For example, they write, “The confident sense of selfhood that comes from membership in a society in which we believe, where we both trust and feel trusted, and to which we feel we securely belong:  this is exactly what is threatened by a crisis of civic membership [and] disillusionment with politics.”

In other words, the situation we find ourselves in today, where people have little trust in government, affects more than the ability of our governments to function. It affects us, as well. It affects how much we participate in government and other community activities that are not about us and our families. And it affects how we view our community, how welcoming we are to its new members, how much we care about its openness and cohesion or, on the other hand, how much we feel alienated by and angry at those in positions of authority.

Citizen Participation
Alexis de Tocqueville, in his great work Democracy in America, wrote, "Citizens who are bound to take part in public affairs must turn from the private interests and occasionally take a look at something other than themselves." The authors of Habits of the Heart argue that "the habits and practices of religion and democratic participation educate the citizen to a larger view than his purely private world would allow. These habits and practices rely to some extent on self-interest in the educational work, but it is only when self-interest has to some degree been transcended that they succeed. … American citizenship was anchored in the ethos and institutions of the face-to-face community of the town.”

The authors emphasize the value of a citizenship approach to government. They feel that participation in local government to further one's private interests and those of one's family, friends, and business associates, rather than to determine and seek the common good, goes against this concept of citizenship. It changes the ethos and mars the institutions.

Withdrawal into Private Life
Habits of the Heart revolves around interviews with a number of people from all walks of life. One expresses a familiar feeling that "the person who thinks in terms of the common good is a’ sucker’ in a situation where each individual is trying to pursue his or her own interests.’" This natural reaction to a government that is about contending private interests helps sustain this situation by preventing many public-spirited individuals from getting involved. And when they do get involved, they are often accused of seeking their personal interests as well, which makes them feel even worse than being "suckers."

This was definitely true of me when I first got involved in town government. Although I didn't feel like a "sucker," I was constantly attacked for participating in government only to get a position or otherwise get something for myself. And multiple attempts were made to destroy my reputation in the community. Fortunately, I had no business in the community, so my reputation didn't matter to me, at least not economically. But the goal was to use my self-interest in preserving my reputation and my peace of mind in order to get me to stop participating in local government.

When we decide to minimize our political involvement, we see it not as placing our self-interest above the public good, but rather putting our family first, protecting our emotional state, and saving ourselves from the taint of corruption. Withdrawal by educated individuals into private life, due to fear of corruption or of intimidation, is a form of personal interest that a government ethics program cannot deal with directly, although an ethics commission can discuss the issue. What is important to emphasize is that this withdrawal into private life is a significant factor in the continued existence of this corruption and intimidation.

It Shouldn't Take a Hero
Think of the typical American heroes who do get involved in local government for the common good rather than for their personal interest. One is the whistleblower, who sacrifices her career, and endangers her life, to unmask corruption. Then there is the detective who discovers that a murder is linked to those who run the community, who try to buy, or bump, him off. Solving the crime becomes a battle for his integrity.

These heroic types send the message that “to serve society, one must be able to stand alone, not needing others, not depending on their judgment, and not submitting to their wishes. ... One accepts the necessity of remaining alone in order to serve the values of the group. This obligation to aloneness is an important key to the American moral imagination."

Which of us has the moral or physical courage to be this sort of lonely superhero? So few of us choose to get involved, and if we do get involved, we fufill the basic obligations of our role and let other, stronger types be the heroes (and they don't really need our help, do they?). The solution is to have more people get involved, so that no one has to feel required to act alone or not at all. The more people who speak out, the easier it is to participate and speak out ourselves.

See the other posts on this book:
Civic Membership and the Common Good
The Obligations of Professionals in Local Government

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

203-859-1959