A “State of American Citizenship” survey paints a brighter picture than many would expect.
This essay presents some of the highlights of a survey produced by the Hoover Institution’s Working Group on Good American Citizenship, part of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions. To read the full report, click here; the summary and survey data are here.
We are troubled but unsurprised by fresh evidence of American civic decline—evidence that comes from an August 2023 survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Working Group on Good American Citizenship. At the same time, we’re heartened by several rays of hope that penetrate the gloom.
There can be no doubt—it’s clear from these data—that large majorities of Americans, regardless of party affiliation, harbor deep distrust regarding the nation’s present direction and have little use for its government, its elected officials, or its politics. We also see, once again, that most know very little about the structures and functions of government itself. And—in the lead-up to a key national election—we found fresh evidence of partisan differences, sometimes sizable, on a host of issues.
These findings certainly seem to augur poorly for the future and work against a renewal of good citizenship. Yet, at the same time, most Americans are reasonably content with their own lives, the communities in which they live, and even the governments of those communities. What’s more, many claim to be well-informed about public affairs, to participate in community matters, to believe they have (or could have) influence on important local decisions, and to discuss issues respectfully, even when they disagree. Many traditional American values continue to be widely held. Though the term “patriotism” has become contentious among “culture warriors,” over four-fifths of survey respondents consider themselves patriotic. And 70 percent of Americans trust their fellow citizens to make the most important decisions regarding their lives and the nation (though this is in the context of not trusting “elected officials” with such important matters).
Also notable: some of these findings, both worrisome and reassuring, turn out to be stable over time. Designers of the 2023 Hoover/YouGov survey were able to pose several questions that matched (or closely resembled) questions posed to American respondents in the mid-twentieth century by Gabriel Almond, Sidney Verba, and Samuel Stouffer as part of their protracted examinations of civic culture in the United States and other countries. Comparing results from beginning to end of that protracted period is often illuminating and sometimes encouraging—matters have generally not worsened and, in some cases, have improved.
First, the bad news
Much of what we learned about present attitudes and understandings must be termed gloomy. Fewer than a quarter of respondents (24 percent) say the country is moving in the right direction. Black respondents, at 33 percent, showed less discontent with the direction of the nation than Caucasian (23 percent) or Hispanic respondents (27 percent.)
Barely half (56 percent) of respondents feel that “law and order” can “describe America today.” Only 64 percent believe that democracy can “describe America today well”—and just 19 percent said it describes America “very well.” More than half (55 percent) said “politics and government are so complicated that the average person cannot really understand what is going on.”
Survey respondents overwhelmingly displayed contempt for elected officials. Almost nine in ten (89 percent), with little variation across party lines, believe that “elected officials talk too much and take too little action.” Also, 82 percent endorsed the statement that “elected officials always end up agreeing when it comes to protecting their own privileges,” and 70 percent believe “the people, not the elected officials, should make our most important policy decisions.” Furthermore, 66 percent concurred with the statement that “I would rather be represented by an ordinary citizen than by an experienced elected official.” On that one, however, we observe a wide partisan spread: just half (51 percent) of Democrats agreed with that statement, compared to three-quarters (74 percent) of Republicans and 72 percent of independents.
In line with findings from many other surveys and assessments, YouGov and Hoover found widespread ignorance about basic civics and American history. Barely half of respondents (52 percent) knew the term length of a US senator, and not quite half (48 percent) correctly identified the president who led the country through World War I. While a robust 79 percent correctly chose that the “rule of law” means “no one is above the law,” younger respondents identified this less than older ones: only 66 percent of respondents aged eighteen to twenty-nine answered correctly, versus 96 percent of respondents aged sixty-five and older who did.
The older Americans are, the more they seem to know, whether that additional knowledge dates back to their formal schooling or has been acquired from life experience. By sizable margins, respondents aged sixty-five and older correctly answered every civics and history knowledge question more often than younger respondents. Signs of generational decline also emerged in answers to whether their “school prepared [them] to be a good citizen”—72 percent of sixty-five-plus-year-olds respondents said yes to that question, but only 50 percent of eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds concurred. As for personally following national, international, and local affairs, eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds were least likely to do so. That’s the only age group where a majority (52 percent) say they do not “follow politics and public affairs” much or at all.
On the brighter side
Americans are more optimistic about their personal lives and communities than about the nation at large. For instance, 58 percent of survey respondents said they were “happy” with the way their lives are going, and an additional 14 percent said they were “very happy.” A 68 percent supermajority rated their communities as “excellent” (18 percent) or “good” (50 percent) places to live, with only 7 percent calling them “poor.” Hearteningly, partisan differences proved minimal on these metrics.
Many Americans also appear to feel empowered, at least potentially empowered, when it comes to influencing what goes on locally. For example, 77 percent of respondents say they understand local issues “somewhat well” (49 percent) or “very well” (28 percent), while 90 percent believe they can have an impact in “making their community a better place to live.” Furthermore, 19 percent say they can make a “big impact,” 39 percent a “moderate impact,” and 32 percent a “small impact.”
Also, 63 percent of respondents said it was somewhat (43 percent) or very likely (20 percent) that they would attempt to influence a local law they considered “very unjust or harmful.” Furthermore, 36 percent of respondents reported having previously tried “to influence a local decision,” and the same percentage said they had “worked with fellow citizens to solve a problem in (their) community” at least once. An identical percentage said they have “attended a political meeting on local, town, or school affairs” at least once.
Traditional values are fairly robust across the population as a whole. The YouGov survey asked how important “are the following values to you personally”—“hard work,” “tolerance,” “marriage,” “self-fulfillment,” “community involvement,” “patriotism,” “belief in God,” “family,” and “money.” Family got top billing, with 81 percent of respondents terming it “very important” (community involvement came in last). Note, though, that valuing family does not necessarily correlate with valuing marriage, which turns out to be less important a value across the board but particularly, it would seem, among Democrats.
Despite this word causing some activists and culture warriors to gird for battle, patriotism received solid support among survey respondents. When asked “how patriotic toward the United States would you consider yourself,” 43 percent reported themselves as “very patriotic” and an additional 40 percent said they were “somewhat patriotic.” Additionally, 23 percent of respondents said “the United States stands above all countries in the world,” with another 57 percent believing “the United States is one of the greatest countries in the world.”
Asked how frequently they socialize with people holding different political opinions, almost half of respondents (49 percent) said they do this “very” or “somewhat often.” An encouraging 44 percent of respondents say they discuss politics with people they disagree with. Within that subgroup, 76 percent—that is, one-third of all respondents—say these discussions are respectful rather than heated. Moreover, Americans want to see this civility achieved in policy debates by elected officials. In fact, 65 percent of respondents believe “elected officials should compromise to get things done” rather than “stick to their principles no matter what.”
Asked what are the characteristics of “good citizens”—the Working Group’s focus—55 percent of respondents rated “helping neighbors” as one of the three most important qualities of good citizens. Also, 64 percent of respondents believe it is “very” (19 percent) or “somewhat” (45 percent) important for Americans to attend town hall meetings. Additionally, 65 percent believe it to be “very” (20 percent) or “somewhat” (45 percent) important to participate in “politics beyond voting.” And 72 percent of respondents reported that it is “very” (29 percent) or “somewhat” (43 percent) important for Americans to express political beliefs in general.
Strongest impressions
The Hoover/YouGov survey yields ample cause for concern about the present state of citizenship in the United States, as well as clear evidence of tough challenges facing the nation and the polity, while also delivering some grounds for optimism about prospects for improving the situation. Our ability to make comparisons with Americans’ views on a few of these issues half a century ago similarly produced both encouraging and worrying shifts. Five impressions appear most compelling to us:
- We’re struck by the relative robustness of respondents’ feelings about their own communities and their place within those communities, including what appears to be a reasonably strong sense of engagement and personal efficacy regarding the affairs of those communities. After all, much of good citizenship is local—one’s neighborhood, one’s local municipality, the institutions, organizations, and relationships that one actually engages with from day to day—and to the extent that that part of American citizenship is reasonably strong, the country is not doomed—and there’s a base to build on.
- Though Americans’ weak grasp of US history and the rudiments of civics is unquestionably a problem, it’s not insoluble. A number of surveys, including this one, reveal wide swaths of agreement across the polity regarding what kids should learn in school (and, we hope, in college) about civics and history.
- A recurrent strand is that younger Americans are more turned off, less engaged, less patriotic, and less knowledgeable than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. That’s a problem, to be sure—though one that appears to have existed for a long time—but it also suggests the possibility of “targeted” solutions, whether it’s getting out the vote, encouraging participation in community affairs, sophisticated “messaging,” or perhaps enlisting the right role models and spokespersons. It might also suggest a different crop of political candidates.
- Partisan differences turned out to be large on a number of survey questions but surprisingly small on others—and despite the quarrels that so often seem to divide us, many Americans socialize and (respectfully) discuss politics with people they don’t necessarily agree with.
- Though we see little love for elected politicians, we find broad interest in those politicians finding ways to compromise in pursuit of the public interest. That suggests a substantial reservoir of flexibility and common sense within the electorate itself.