Civic life, private life, politics, and government | Citizenship | High school civics | Khan Academy

In this video, we're going to talk about how people can interact with influence and participate in society. When you do so, you're participating in civic life, which is distinct from your private life.

Private life includes all the ways that you pursue happiness through relationships, hobbies, or your job. That is, if you're not a member of government. Civic life includes all the ways that you might take part in solving the problems of your community, whether that's by volunteering in civil society, making rules or laws, or serving in a government body—whether that's the school council or the U.S. Senate.

So, if you like playing video games, playing for fun is part of your private life. But if you joined a group petitioning for more representation of diverse characters in video games, you'd be entering into civic life. Then, you're not just doing things that make you happy individually; you're striving to have an effect on the lives of others.

So, when you step into civic life, you will become involved with politics and government. Although you often hear them lumped together, they're not actually the same thing. You could say that politics is something that you do—an action. Politics encompasses all the ways that people reach agreements in a group by negotiating, compromising, or voting.

And those people might not agree with each other, but through the political process, they agree to be bound by the rules that they've negotiated together. So, on the large scale, politics describes both how Congress debates bills and how you and your brother decide who does the dishes.

Then there's government. Government is a noun, and it describes both the institutions like the Supreme Court or the city council, which make and enforce laws, as well as the people who serve in those institutions. So, government could describe both FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, as well as the referee whose job it is to enforce the rules that soccer teams and players agree to abide by.

Okay, so now that you've learned about civic life, private life, politics, and government, here's a pop quiz. I'm going to give you a few scenarios and you see if you can match them to the correct term.

First up, Ayla's church provides food and shelter for the homeless community during the winter to keep them out of the cold. Is this an example of civic life, private life, politics, or government? Pause the video here and see what you think.

If you guessed civic life, you're correct! Ayla is participating in what we call civil society here, which you might remember from another video. Civil society includes all of the voluntary institutions that people form and join outside of government and the market. She's doing something for her community.

Okay, next: the Supreme Court hears a case about internet copyright law and the First Amendment. Is this an example of civic life, private life, politics, or government? This is government. The Supreme Court is part of a governing body that enforces the rules.

Okay, last one: Jeffrey, a representative for the AARP, reaches out to Senator Rodriguez to provide more information on the impact a bill making its way through the house will have on senior citizens. He wants to secure Senator Rodriguez's support when the bill reaches the Senate. Is this an example of civic life, private life, politics, or government?

If you guessed politics, you're right! Jeffrey is providing information hoping to influence a decision that will affect others.

Okay, thanks for playing! Keep practicing your skills in the exercise for this lesson.