By Julie Roles, VAN Co-chair
I’ve been thinking about self-determination lately. At the Vital Aging Network, we believe in self-determination — that people have the capacity to make meaningful choices about their lives throughout their lives. Promoting self-determination is our mission and recognizing its importance is in keeping with our asset-based approach towards aging. We most often think of it in personal terms, but the concept of self-determination goes well beyond the personal to have important collective significance.
Self-determination requires a combination of skills, knowledge and beliefs. Being able to make decisions about one’s life impacts physical, emotional and social well-being. Threats to self-determination can come to the forefront as people age, particularly if capacities shift and interdependence grows. When people lose decision-making power, they also lose self-worth and can withdraw psychologically.
Collective self-determination is a political concept that is embodied in a form of government rooted in the consent of the governed. A belief in collective self-determination was fundamental to our founding as a country. It was more broadly established in international law in the late 1800s and strengthened in the post-World-War-II era. It has evolved from a political concept to a human right. In free societies, voting is the primary method by which individuals express their desires and consent and, thereby, impact how they are governed.
As we are bombarded by information, including misinformation and disinformation, and actions often don’t translate to impact, many of us have abandoned our role in collective self-determination. For evidence, we can look at the voter data from 2024. More than 89 million eligible voters did not vote; 77 million voted for Donald Trump and 74 million for Kamala Harris. “Did not vote” won in a landslide. Those people didn’t exercise their civic duty, nor did they contribute their voice to influence what would come next.
VAN also promotes civic engagement and, of late, we have been working to help people build muscle strength as civic beings. Part of that strength is our capacity for self-determination. We might learn from leaders studying how self-determination develops in early childhood. Experts have identified these actions that lead to self-determination:
- Making conscious choices based on one’s own preferences
- Identifying actions that lead to a specific goal
- Believing in one’s ability to carry out these chosen actions and feeling supported in a pursuit of the goal. (Source)
Just as individuals may lose self-worth and withdraw when they lose self-determination, society is at risk for nonparticipation and apathy when we don’t take our role in collective self-determination seriously.
So, what should we do about it? For me, elevating the idea that the actions we take in our civic roles (voting and beyond) are about collective self-determination is a start. Then, we need to be informed so we can make choices that are based on our values and be intentional about taking actions that impact issues we see as critical. Finally, we need to encourage and support each other in creating the world we want to live in.
Do you have thoughts about self-determination? Comments are open. Let us know what you think.
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