According to Putnam, the more we prioritize our private bubbles over public life, the more we disconnect from our local surroundings. This has weakened American democracy. Fewer people are engaged in politics, and those who do are often at the political poles. With less social capital, our neighborhoods are connected by fewer informal, reciprocal t... See more

Social capital, defined by Putnam, is the “connections among individuals — social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.”