Commentary on The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics by Russell J. Dalton

Many political analysts argue that engagement is an important characteristic of democracy, yet the younger generation is indifferent towards politics. They’re more interested in the latest iPhone technology than in campaigning or voting. In The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics, author Russell J. Dalton counters this with the idea that Gen X’ers are still engaged, just in a different way.

The book is divided into three sections. Chapters one through three deftly connects theory and survey data to characterize citizen norms in modern America. Chapters four through seven addresses the ramifications of those changing norms. Chapters eight and nine are a cross-national perspective, focusing on citizenship norms in the United States and abroad, and the similarities across nations.

Dalton begins by asking what a good citizen is. He doesn’t give an outright answer of what he thinks a good citizen is, but allows the reader to decide for themselves. Those in political and academic worlds contend that too few in the younger generation are voting and are the primary source of decline. They volunteer, but are disengaged from politics. Dalton disputes this by saying they may not be turning out to vote in high numbers, but are participating in other ways such as volunteering, demonstrating, and protesting, and calls these the new norms of citizenship.

He examines these norms using public opinion surveys and other types of research, one of which proposes that modern day citizens are the “most educated, most cosmopolitan, and most supportive of self-expressive values than any other public in the history of democracy” (Dalton 2008, 2). He suggests there are two types of citizenships – duty-based and engaged (D...

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...countries as being a threat “to the social compact of good citizenship,” (Dalton 2008, 139).

Previous generations of Americans scored much higher than other democracies in regards to duty-based citizenship. Today, we score higher in both duty-based and engaged citizenship (Dalton 2008, 141). We’re also far more tolerant of citizens of developed democracies, though we often have difficulties applying this to groups we dislike (Dalton 2008, 152). Our higher tolerance could, in large part, be contributed being a diverse nation. Tolerance is challenging to measure simply because it can be defined differently for each country. The best method for cross-cultural studies is the “content-controlled” measure, asking individuals which groups they disliked the most and their tolerance level toward that group. Engaged citizenship seems to increase tolerance (Dalton2008, 154).