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 51
... organizations are professionally staffed advocacy organizations , not member - centered , locally based associations . The newer groups focus on expressing policy views in the national political debate , not on providing regu- lar ...
... organizations are professionally staffed advocacy organizations , not member - centered , locally based associations . The newer groups focus on expressing policy views in the national political debate , not on providing regu- lar ...
Page 55
... organizations skyrocketed . Because of growing population , the increase was even more dramatic . The breadth of this civic explosion encompassed virtually every organization on the list , from “ old- fashioned " ones like the Grange ...
... organizations skyrocketed . Because of growing population , the increase was even more dramatic . The breadth of this civic explosion encompassed virtually every organization on the list , from “ old- fashioned " ones like the Grange ...
Page 416
... organizations , we will miss new and rapidly growing groups . Another important caution follows from the fact that organizations have life cycles . Nothing whatever can be inferred about the civic vitality of a community from the birth ...
... organizations , we will miss new and rapidly growing groups . Another important caution follows from the fact that organizations have life cycles . Nothing whatever can be inferred about the civic vitality of a community from the birth ...
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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