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. |
From inside the book
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Page 42
... late 1970s , a pause in the early 1980s , and then a renewed and intensified de- cline from the late 1980s into the 1990s . Between 1973 and 1994 the number of Americans who attended even one public meeting on town or school affairs in ...
... late 1970s , a pause in the early 1980s , and then a renewed and intensified de- cline from the late 1980s into the 1990s . Between 1973 and 1994 the number of Americans who attended even one public meeting on town or school affairs in ...
Page 260
... late 1990s as in the late 1960s . Participation in student elections plummeted even faster than participation by their parents in national elections , falling from roughly 75 percent in the late 1960s to 20 percent in the late 1990s ...
... late 1990s as in the late 1960s . Participation in student elections plummeted even faster than participation by their parents in national elections , falling from roughly 75 percent in the late 1960s to 20 percent in the late 1990s ...
Page 449
... late 1990s in the frequency of " taking an active part in some local civic issue " and a drop of 35 percent in the frequency of “ addressing a public meeting . ” 29. For further discussion of ballot initiatives , see chapter 9. The ...
... late 1990s in the frequency of " taking an active part in some local civic issue " and a drop of 35 percent in the frequency of “ addressing a public meeting . ” 29. For further discussion of ballot initiatives , see chapter 9. The ...
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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