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 that Robert Putnam has identified in this brilliant volume, which The Economist hailed as “a prodigious achievement.” Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans’ changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures—whether they be PTA, church, or political parties—have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe. Like defining works from the past, such as The Lonely Crowd and The Affluent Society, and like the works of C. Wright Mills and Betty Friedan, Putnam’s Bowling Alone has identified a central crisis at the heart of our society and suggests what we can do. |
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Page 26
... evidence that we can find . The most powerful strategy for paleometeorologists seeking to assess global climate change is to triangulate among diverse sources of evidence . If pollen counts in polar ice , and the width of southwestern ...
... evidence that we can find . The most powerful strategy for paleometeorologists seeking to assess global climate change is to triangulate among diverse sources of evidence . If pollen counts in polar ice , and the width of southwestern ...
Page 318
... evidence has been drawn from studies of inner cities and their residents , because for more than a generation scholarly energies have been invested in studying the problems of those settings . In seeking evidence of the impact of social ...
... evidence has been drawn from studies of inner cities and their residents , because for more than a generation scholarly energies have been invested in studying the problems of those settings . In seeking evidence of the impact of social ...
Page 508
... evidence ) was flawed . Correcting the computational errors had the effect of diminishing the ap- parent decline in formal group membership . My only consolation was that we had uncovered the error before my critics . Throughout this ...
... evidence ) was flawed . Correcting the computational errors had the effect of diminishing the ap- parent decline in formal group membership . My only consolation was that we had uncovered the error before my critics . Throughout this ...
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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 environmental evidence fewer figure forms fraction friends Gilded Age groups growth half important income individual Internet Journal less levels membership ment mobility National National Election Study nearly Needham Life Style neighborhood neighbors organizational organizations parents participation percent Political Trends surveys poll population predictor Progressive Era religion religious reported Research Robert Roper Social roughly Social and Political social capital social connectedness 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