The founders of the American republic saw two motivations for individual civic participation: self-interest and civic duty. "Civic Participation in America" frames our understanding of civic and political participation the way the nation's founders did: as a human behavior powerfully influenced by institutions within society. The book examines the influence of the important macro-institutions of citizenship, political economy, and the public sphere and size of government, as well as key institutions of civic socialization such as the family, media, and education, on the motivation to participate. It argues that over time these institutions have encouraged more self-interested participation over civic duty-oriented participation.

This text argues that the declining nature of traditional forms of civic participation over the last half century are the result of the evolution of larger institutional, social, and historical forces that have favoured the self-interest motivation at the expense of civic duty.