Civic Renewal

The perception that civil society is declining has gained currency in recent years. With increasing frequency, politicians and scholars talk about the need for Americans to pay more attention to values and individual responsibility.Meanwhile, many people long for the tranquillity and prosperity of the 1950s and blame many of today's social ills, including poverty and crime, on a dearth of morality and common courtesy.Concern for the nation's moral health has sparked a movement of ideologically diverse thinkers who are linked by the belief that institutions like family and community must be strengthened if America is to thrive. But others wonder whether the positive aspects of the past can be resurrected without also bringing back the conformity and discrimination thatf lourished in the “good old days.”