Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American CommunityOnce we bowled in leagues, usually after work; but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolizes a significant social change. Drawing on surveys on Americans' changing behavior over the past twenty-five years, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures, whether the PTA, church, recreation clubs, political parties, or bowling leagues. Our shrinking access to the "social capital" that is the reward of communal activity and community sharing is a serious threat to our civic and personal health. The loss of social capital is felt in critical ways : communities with less social capital have lower educational performance and more teen pregnancy, child suicide, low birth weight, and prenatal mortality. Social capital is also a strong predictor of crime rates, other measures of neighborhood quality of life, and health. America has faced this crisis before. At the turn of the last century, social capital was at low ebb, reduced by urbanization, industrialization, and vast immigration that uprooted Americans from their friends, social institutions, and families. Faced with this challenge, the country righted itself. Within a few decades, a range of organizations was created, from the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, and YWCA to Hadassah and the Knights of Columbus and the Urban League and social capital was rebuilt. Putnam calls on Americans to start the process again. |
Contents
Trends in Civic Engagement and Social Capital | 29 |
Civic Participation | 48 |
Religious Participation | 65 |
Connections in the Workplace | 80 |
Informal Social Connections | 93 |
Altruism Volunteering and Philanthropy | 116 |
Reciprocity Honesty and Trust | 134 |
Against the Tide? Small Groups Social Movements and the Net | 148 |
Safe and Productive Neighborhoods | 307 |
Economic Prosperity | 319 |
Health and Happiness | 326 |
Democracy | 336 |
The Dark Side of Social Capital | 350 |
WHAT IS TO BE DONE? | 365 |
the Progressive | 402 |
Measuring Social Change | 415 |
Introduction | 183 |
Mobility and Sprawl | 204 |
CONTENTS | 247 |
What Killed Civic Engagement? Summing Up | 277 |
SO WHAT? with the assistance of Kristin A Goss | 285 |
Education and Childrens Welfare | 296 |
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Common terms and phrases
activities adults African Americans American analysis of DDB Author’s analysis average Barry Wellman behavior boomers bowling chapter Chicago church attendance cities citizens civic disengagement civic engagement club meetings cohort community projects compared computer-mediated communication correlated DDB Needham decades decline Democracy demographic economic effects entertainment evidence fewer figure fraction friends Gilded Age groups growth half income individual Internet Journal less levels membership ment mobility National National Election Study nearly Needham Life Style neighborhood neighbors organizational organizations parents participation percent philanthropy Political Trends surveys poll population predictor Progressive Era religion religious reported Research Robert Roper Social roughly Social and Political social capital social connectedness social movements social networks Social Survey social trust society Statistics Style survey archive television Theda Skocpol tion turnout twentieth century University Press Urban virtually voluntary associations volunteering voting watching women workplace York