What makes a good citizen? A new paper by a sociologist at Indiana University argues there's no need to pick sides in an old argument about how to build better citizens. Both sides are right, says Matthew Baggetta of IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Baggetta studies civil society, voluntary associations, civic engagement and social capital at SPEA. He says scholars have long considered voluntary associations "schools of democracy" whether they're the Boy Scouts, a bowling league or a political party. Join a group, the theory goes, and you're more likely to join another and another and, in the process, contribute to the betterment of your community. The good citizen that results was created by the "causal effects" of civic participation, that "participation in associations actually changes people."
A counter theory argues that good citizens are attracted to voluntary associations, so "self-selection" and not causality should get the credit. Baggetta contends both theories are correct in a paper he will present to the 2012 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Denver that he says tackles a more pressing question: "In a context where self-selection is known to occur, can associations have causal impacts on members? If so, how?"
Baggetta imagines a college student who joins a mountaineering club because she likes to hike. But the club also engages in political activism to protect mountain environments. She finds herself swept up in the political wing of the organization although she only intended to go for a hike.
"If, over the course of the membership, the recreational joiner was recruited into the political domain, the organization would have had a causal impact on the student's civic trajectory," Baggetta says.
People select civic groups based on what they say they do and the way they're organized. The forces that deepen, extend or even alter their civic involvement are less obvious or "latent." For example, Baggetta says the student looking for a mountaineering club may end up with a random roommate who is involved in the student newspaper. The hiker goes to a meeting at the newspaper, likes it, and suddenly she's moving in a very different civic direction.
Baggetta concedes the scholarly "hike" through this subject is just starting. While the subject is theoretical, he says more research will yield a better understanding of why people join groups and the forces that build better citizens.
Baggetta will discuss his paper at 10:30 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 20, at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
To speak with Baggetta, contact Jim Hanchett, SPEA Communications, at 812-856-5490 or jimhanch@indiana.edu, or Steve Hinnefeld at IU Communications, 812-856-3488 or slhinnef@iu.edu.