Civic Idealism

Alexis de Tocqueville:
"Self-Interest:
RightlyUnderstood"
 

GK Chesterton:
"What is America?"

 

George Washington:
 Farewell Address
 

Jefferson:
1st Inaugural
 The Moral Sense
 Public Service
 

Lincoln:
 Second Inaugural
 

Populist Platform
 

William Jennings Bryan
"Behold a Republic"
(Real Audio)
 

Theodore Roosevelt:
"A Square Deal"
(Real Audio)
 

FDR's 1st Inaugural
(Real Audio)
 

Saul Alinsky:
Reveille for Radicals
 

J.F. Kennedy:
 Inaugural Address
(Real Audio)
 

Martin Luther King:
"I Have a Dream"
 (Real Audio)
 

Barbara Jordan
Keynote Speech (1976)
(Real Audio)
 

Civic Idealism

"America is the only country that is founded on a creed," G.K. Chesterton wrote many years ago.

That creed is civic idealism.

It is a political philosophy with deep roots in our democratic tradition and it is shared by millions of Americans today.

Those of us who believe that government and citizens must work together to improve our quality of life--and who participate actively in our communities on this basis--are practicing the principles of civic idealism, even if we are often at a loss to define what they are.

We share certain basic concerns:

Upholding Civic Values--Civic idealists insist that America's most important civic values are the enduring principles of freedom, equality, democracy, and justice embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These are the principles that unite us as a people, whatever our distinct religious and ethical traditions may be. 

Building Community--Civic idealists are community builders, bringing people together to 'establish justice,' 'insure domestic tranquillity,' and 'promote the general welfare.' Civic idealism is, in fact, the underlying philosophy of most community organizing and activism in America, and much of the work of the Institute for the Study of Civic Values falls within this realm.

Expanding Economic Opportunity-Civic idealists are in the forefront of movements for economic opportunity in America, both nationally and in communities throughout the country. We believe that citizens and government must work together to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" by extending equal opportunity to every American.

Strengthening Democracy-Above all, civic idealists are champions of a strong democracy--in which citizens participate and in which government is held accountable to the people.

For 30 years, the Institute for the Study of Civic Values has been working to promote civic idealism in America and to apply its basic principles to the problems facing us today.

Whatever the challenge--rebuilding our neighborhoods and cities, eradicating poverty, reforming our political system--the principles of civic idealism give us a powerful framework both to define our problems and to develop programs that can help us solve them.

The Institute for the Study of Civic Values dedicates this web site to America's civic idealists.

 We believe that if we understand our past, we can shape the future.