Voluntarism, Community Life, and the American Ethic

Robert S. Ogilvie

Jun 2004 · Indiana University Press

About this ebook

"This is a major contribution to the literature on social participation and voluntary action. It is the first systematic ethnographic study I know that treats volunteers and the institutions they create." -- John Van Til, author of Growing Civil Society

"Students and faculty interested in the issue of homelessness will find the book instructive... Recommended." -- Choice

Why do people volunteer, and what motivates them to stick with it? How do local organizations create community? How does voluntary participation foster moral development in volunteers to create a better citizenry? In this fascinating study of volunteers at the Partnership for the Homeless in New York City, Robert S. Ogilvie provides bold and engaging answers to these questions. He describes how volunteer programs such as the Partnership generate ethical development in and among participants and how the Partnership's volunteers have made it such a continued success since the early 1980s. Ogilvie's examination of voluntarism suggests that the American ethic is essential for sustaining community life and to the future well-being of a democratic society.

Ratings and reviews

在导言中，作者指出他所指的“美国人的伦理”，正是托克维尔当年在美国考察市民结社中的志愿者所见到的“大量守规矩、热情、适度、有远见、自主的公民”。这种伦理由来已久，她是全体公民通过在负责管理社区公共事务的结社过程中发展起来的。托氏所见“市民生活的一般结社”即志愿参与公共事务，正是公民情感互惠、忠于同袍、丰富的道德想像力、服务社区、勇于面对社会问题以及成为对社会有用的一员的自豪感这样一些重要品质的来源。托氏认为，这些伦理代表美国人对趋向于极端个人主义的民主的这一自然秉性的独特回应。 鉴于许多人担心美国人的伦理正在成为昔日的回忆，国家也因此变得更糟的现状，本书所开展的这样一种调查是及时的。作者看到大量的证据支持这样的观点，即：美国人的志愿服务正在下降，或者至少变得更加个人主义，但同时作者也看到许多结社的例子，正如托氏当年所见到的那样，正作为一种道德发动机在运作。

About the author

Robert S. Ogilvie is assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches classes in community development and urban studies. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. He is the former director of volunteers at the Partnership for the Homeless in New York City.