The role some nonprofits play in our broken democracy

A book report about Diminished Democracy

Image description: A copy of the book Diminished Democracy on my table with a coffee cup.

I recently discovered Theda Skocpol’s book, Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life. Skocpol’s well-researched book describes and contrasts civic organizations dominant in American life in two different eras.

Classic voluntary federations dominated American life from the 1800s to the mid-1900s. Skocpol focuses on large membership organizations that attracted more than 1% of the eligible US population to join, and I was amazed to learn how many met this bar—fraternal organizations, the YMCA, farming and labor groups, and women’s clubs. These networks consisted of hyper-local chapters with strong ties to state and national levels and highly democratic decision-making by locally chosen representatives sent to regional and national conventions. Most of these organizations had cross-class participation and their revenue came from a broad base of member dues. Political activism and power building was integrated with other organizational activities.

Professionally-managed advocacy organizations have come to the fore starting in the 1960s. These include public interest groups, social justice organizations, and groups focused on a narrow shared identity. Some of these organizations may call themselves membership organizations, but in most cases, being a member solely means contributing money. Funding comes from more well-off and well-educated individuals and foundations, not broad grassroots membership, and linkage between professional staff and ordinary people is low. While some of these groups are responsible for significant policy gains (consumer protection, civil rights, environmental protection), they lack a broad base of support and contribute to fragmentation and polarization rather than being incentivized to mobilize voters and win over people outside their niche audience. Skocpol puts it this way: “Large numbers of Americans can easily by ignored if they are parts of groups not seen as likely to give money or turn out to vote for particular causes.”

Skocpol is very thorough and careful in the book to cite different interpretations of the changes that civic life has undergone, and she notes that some researchers are optimistic about the direction of civic and nonprofit organizations. At the same time, she makes a compelling case that modern advocacy groups do not have the same democratizing effects as old-school federations, and that our democracy is diminished as a result. And as I wrote about in an earlier post, they are vulnerable to movement capture. I really enjoyed learning about how the earlier civic organizations worked and what they accomplished, and I agree with her that cross-class and cross-issue movement building is worthwhile and potentially needed to renew our democratic system.

Thanks to Philanthropy Northwest for hosting Benjamin Soskis at a recent Democracy Rising events. His excellent article Progressive Philanthropy and “The Groups” Critique led me to Skocpol’s book.