Now with less than four weeks to Election Day, President Obama and presidential-hopeful Mitt Romney are rallying their bases to get out the vote. As pundits wage their bets on the effects of voter apathy on this year’s race, modern political theory expert Ben Berger reminds us that the problem is not new: Aristophanes complained about citizen apathy in ancient Greece, as did Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1830s. According to Berger, the key is to understand the reasons for political inattention – which can often be attributed to the popular tastes of the time – and address them.
“Popular tastes can play an important role in determining engagement with the political process,” says Berger, an associate professor of political science at Swarthmore College. “Very often we pay attention to things that we like, and politics don’t always rank high on that list.”
According to Berger, political campaigns have long sought to appeal to people’s tastes for entertainment in order to capture their attention and then mobilize their energies to the polls. Historians have cited the role of torchlight parades, which held considerable entertainment appeal, to generate excitement in 19th and even 20th century political campaigns. More recently, Rock the Vote, although non-partisan, has registered and mobilized millions of young voters since its launch by utilizing the popularity of music celebrities.
“But now there are many other sources of entertainment that can compete for our attention, so political campaigns have to be creative,” says Berger. “Democrats have utilized many entertainment celebrities to generate excitement, but the GOP has done some of that as well – Clint Eastwood got a prime-time slot at the GOP convention and Kid Rock recently introduced Paul Ryan in Michigan. The interesting thing about the 2008 campaign was that Obama himself became a rock star figure and satisfied many people’s appetites for a relatively young, charismatic leader. Now that he doesn’t seem to exude the same charisma, as campaigning is very different from the tough business of governing, the Democrats may have to look elsewhere to generate excitement and attention.”
Berger also notes how friendships and social networks can figure prominently in political mobilization as individuals are more apt to participate in the political process if their friends are.
“Social media became a huge factor in the 2008 election as Obama’s campaign employed a grassroots strategy that tapped into friendship networks and social capital,” says Berger. “Social media will surely play a big role in this election. Republicans are trying to utilize social media in similar ways, but Democrats have an edge because they tend to be more popular with young people who are the most intensive social media users.”
Ben Berger, associate professor of political science at Swarthmore College, can address voter apathy and attentiveness, voter turnout, and young people’s political engagement. His award-winning book, Attention Deficit Democracy: The Paradox of Civic Engagement (2011), analyzes citizens’ inattention throughout history up through the present day.
Berger is one of 26 Periclean Faculty Leaders nationwide and directs Swarthmore’s Engaging Democracy Project, a program designed to promote community engagement, political participation and responsible citizenship in the classroom, on campus, and in the wider community.
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