1. “Organizational Membership and Civic Competence”
Written by: Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba
Interpreted by: Erin Turcot

2. Does membership in voluntary associations lead to political competence and democratic citizens?
Factors to Consider:
Types of Organization
Perceptions of Political Competence
Activity within Organization
Multiple memberships

3. Types of Organizations
Organizations Representing Economic Interests
Social Organizations
Religious Organizations
Civic-political Organizations
Fraternal Organizations
* In the U.S. 57 % of people surveyed participate in voluntary organizations and American women are more likely to participate in organizations than women in Great Britain, Germany, Italy, or Mexico

4. Are Organizations Concerned with Public Affairs/Politics?
Some are purely social
Some are overtly political
However, they all affect political attitudes because of:
Social interactions
Opportunity to participate in the decisions of the organization
General broadening of perspectives that occur from social activity
So, some individuals may not perceive their organizations as having a political role, however, these organizational functions are political

5. Perceptions of Political Competence
Hypothesis: members of voluntary associations should feel more confident of their ability to influence the government
Results:
79 % of people in political organizations perceive themselves to be politically competent
70 % of members in non-political organizations perceive themselves to be politically competent
54 % of non-members perceive themselves to be politically competent

6. Conclusions of Political Competence Hypothesis
Even members of non-political organizations still have a greater sense of political competence than non-members.
This shows that latent political functions are performed in voluntary
associations

7. Activity within Organization
Points to Consider:
Are members actively or passively participating?
Is there a central authority?
Does participation effect sense of competence?

8. Organization Participation Findings
The United States as compared to other democratic nations has a higher percentage of participants in leadership roles.
People with greater competence are more likely to participate
Membership participation leads
to greater sense of political
competence
In the U.S, female organization members are more likely to be active participants than men

9. Multiple Memberships and Politcal Competence
Members in more than one organization show greater competence
U.S compared to other countries:
U.S.: 55% of org. members belong to 1+ orgs
Britain: 34 %
Germany: 27 %
Italy: 20 %
Mexico: 8%

10. Conclusions:
Organizational membership is directly related to participation
Org. members are self-confident and active
Membership in politically-oriented organization leads to greatest political competence
Active membership leads to greater political competence
Most importantly, membership within a non-political or passive membership have greater impact on political competence than someone who is not in an organization

11. Conclusions: Democratic Citizens & Theory of Mass Society
Democratic Citizens are: competent, active, and open with their opinions
Theory of Mass Society: Democracy depends on mass participation
Voluntary Associations are small political systems where people are trained to participate, and gain a sense of political competence
This allows alternative channels of recruitment into politics

12. Source
Hodgkinson, Virginia & Michael W. Foley. The Civil Society Reader. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2003