The Theorized Society and Political Action: Effects of Expanded Higher Education on the Polity

Abstract

A number of commentators have noted significant changes in the American polity over the last half century. More interest groups with more issues are active in the polity now (Dahl, 1994). There is more ideological polarization among political elites (DiMaggio, Evans, & Bryson, 1996, 2004). Participation in voluntary associations has declined among the post 1945 generations, weakening civil society (Putnam, 2000). The new organizations in the polity are more hierarchical in structure, unlike the older voluntary associations that were built on lateral ties (Skocpol, 1996, 1999). Rising education levels have produced lower voter participation rates (Brody, 1978; Nie, Junn, & Stehlik-Berry, 1996). Finally, a number of observers have noted that public opinion, constructed in part by extensive polling, has become a significant force in the polity and this has helped fuel the rise of a media centered politics (Herbst, 1993; Schudson, 1991). This is not an exhaustive list of changes that observers have noted, but it is enough to suggest that the older Tocquevillian polity and the civic culture of the U.S., portrayed so effectively by Almond and Verba (1963), have been transformed in significant ways.

Citation

Kamens, D.H. (2006), "The Theorized Society and Political Action: Effects of Expanded Higher Education on the Polity", Baker, D.P. and Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) The Impact of Comparative Education Research on Institutional Theory (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3679(06)07003-4