Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated: 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, Bowling Alone, 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
Results 6-10 of 87
Page 33
... single direction simultaneously. This sort of social change can occur quickly and be reversed just as quickly. If large numbers of Americans, young and old, fall in love with sport utility vehicles, as they did in the 1990s, the ...
... single direction simultaneously. This sort of social change can occur quickly and be reversed just as quickly. If large numbers of Americans, young and old, fall in love with sport utility vehicles, as they did in the 1990s, the ...
Page 42
... single percentage- point drop represents two million fewer Americans involved in some aspect of community life every year. So, the numbers imply, we now have sixteen million fewer participants in public meetings about local affairs ...
... single percentage- point drop represents two million fewer Americans involved in some aspect of community life every year. So, the numbers imply, we now have sixteen million fewer participants in public meetings about local affairs ...
Page 43
... single most common form of political activity measured in the Roper surveys, but the decline is also clear in the case of letters to Congress. In both cases, however, the chart is essentially flat for the first half of this period and ...
... single most common form of political activity measured in the Roper surveys, but the decline is also clear in the case of letters to Congress. In both cases, however, the chart is essentially flat for the first half of this period and ...
Page 46
... single- issue blare and declining civility of contemporary political discourse.32 These declines in participation appear all along the spectrum from hyperactivists to civic slugs. The fraction of the public who engaged in none of these ...
... single- issue blare and declining civility of contemporary political discourse.32 These declines in participation appear all along the spectrum from hyperactivists to civic slugs. The fraction of the public who engaged in none of these ...
Page 52
... single most vigorous sector of organizational growth during this period, at least measured by numbers of organizations. In fact, however, careful national surveys over this same period show that the rate of membership in veterans ...
... single most vigorous sector of organizational growth during this period, at least measured by numbers of organizations. In fact, however, careful national surveys over this same period show that the rate of membership in veterans ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
29 | |
48 | |
65 | |
Connections in the Workplace | 80 |
Informal Social Connections | 93 |
Altruism Volunteering and Philanthropy | 116 |
Education and Childrens Welfare | 296 |
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 |
Toward an Agenda for Social Capitalists | 402 |
Reciprocity Honesty and Trust | 134 |
Against the Tide? Small Groups Social Movements and the Net | 148 |
Why? | 183 |
Mobility and Sprawl | 204 |
Technology and Mass Media | 216 |
From Generation to Generation | 247 |
What Killed Civic Engagement? Summing Up | 277 |
So What? with the assistance of Kristin A Goss | 285 |
Has the Internet Reversed the Decline | 415 |
Measuring Social Change | 447 |
Sources for Figures and Tables | 457 |
The Rise and Fall of Civic and | 469 |
notes | 477 |
the story behind this book | 545 |
index | 555 |
Common terms and phrases
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