Restoring Civic
Imagination
Imagination
Published September 22, 2026
CIVIC LIFE IN AMERICA
Alternative Futures in 2036
Civic Life in America uses foresight methodology to sketch four sharply different paths American civic life could take by 2036 — from participation that becomes frictionless and AI-assisted, to communities that hollow out from the inside, to a country where every citizen has an AI agent working the halls of government on their behalf. Drawing on 38 expert interviews and secondary research, the report explores how converging forces could push civic life toward radically different destinations. What future will you build?
Convenient America
Civic life becomes easier to enter, harder to belong to.
The Hollow Republic
Civic life does not disappear — it hollows out.
A Guarded Union
Civic life becomes more rule-bound, both protected and constrained.
Agentic Nation
Civic life acquires a second layer of representation.
Civic Life in America was developed with generous support from the Ellis Family Fund.
Our Purpose and Mission
Civic Futures Institute exists to restore civic imagination by helping people see beyond the present moment to reclaim their agency and build the future of American democratic life.
We have more power than IF we imagine.
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