Volunteerism, not just capitalism, was a gateway to America’s success. When French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in 1894, he wrote in his seminal Democracy In America, “In the United States, as soon as several inhabitants have taken an opinion or an idea they wish to promote in society, they seek each other out and unite together once they have made contact.”
When I, a Pakistani exchange student, came to America four months ago for the first time in my life, I was exposed to the American commitment of unity in service. While this idea was not new to me, the way I was asked to volunteer and saw young people around me dedicating time and effort to service made me ponder why it is the way it is and what historical factors have contributed to making volunteering so embedded in society.
With one quarter of Americans volunteering in 2015 according to the Joint Economic Committee of the US Senate, it is safe to say that it is a crucial American value. At its core, volunteering is a way of connecting passionate people together, whether it’s working at a food pantry to earn NHS hours or by participating in grassroots activism with an aim to solve much bigger societal problems like fighting for women’s rights.
This led me to question: What even is America’s success? Is it limited to its powerful economic system of ‘capitalism’ that it used to set growth standards for itself and for the rest of the world? Possibly, but financial success can not be the only measure of success for a nation. The idea of the United States as a country, at its core, is the American Dream: The idea of working hard and going from zero to hero. While I acknowledge that financial growth may be one part of this dream, it is much more than that.
Real fulfillment of the American Dream happens in a system that thrives on hard work and expertise (financial aspects), but only when everybody has an equal chance to succeed (cultural aspects). Volunteering, specifically for civil and social purposes, has long made the possibility of the American Dream less discriminatory by removing systematic barriers that prevent people from achieving their dreams. This is all just from people working in their free time for a cause they feel they could help.
Volunteering generally – beyond influence on the economy – has proved to be vital for progressive politics in order to improve the laws. From the mass protests that spearheaded the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to civilians raising funds and boycotting the British Goods during the revolutionary war, volunteering has crucially fueled these struggles; ranging from collecting finances, to making posters, to simply showing up.
From another perspective, all progress towards cultural equality leads to economic equality as well, thus increasing the possibility of achieving the American Dream. A study at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business shows that if discrimination barriers hadn’t been removed, then the 237.9 increase in GDP relative to 1960 would have been 189.9 instead. This shows a direct correlation between economic and social progress, with the latter’s foundation – volunteering – supporting the former. Without the civil rights movement’s fight for equality, which originated from millions of volunteers fighting for their cause, this economic growth wouldn’t have been possible.
Volunteering is an unsaid social contract. People doing more than what they need to, and more than what they are asked to – only because they believe in the promise of the American Dream. It is an essential part of the nation’s fabric; by making people involved in issues that could improve their economic realities, their legislative rights, or just freedoms in general. This idea of people getting together, helping each other, contributing more than what they need to is unlike any other: commitment of people for the people. In essence, volunteering is a service that is essential to believing in what we call “The American Dream.”