Things fall apart

When someone's daily struggle with instability is met with lectures about macroeconomic indicators, it doesn't change their reality, it only deepens their alienation from institutional expertise.

But people don't experience the economy through employment numbers or percentage point shifts in GDP. And when they are asked by pollsters about the state of the economy, they aren't reflecting on government statistics; they aren't even necessarily thinking about the present. Instead, what they’re doing is more like taking an inventory of economic ... See more

this was probably amongst the biggest challenges to helping US neighborhoods come together: most people don’t have good reasons to meet their neighbors.

I realized that this was probably amongst the biggest challenges to helping US neighborhoods come together: most people don’t have good reasons to meet their neighbors.

our devices allow the illusion of connection without the demands of friendship and conversation

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

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

The changing dynamics of the American economy — from corporate consolidation to the decline of private unions — as well as dramatic changes in immigration policy, are noticeably missing from Putnam’s story.

The bulk of Bowling Alone traces the decline of American social capital through a web of contributing factors, looking for the largest culprits. Putnam identifies these as generational change, pressures of time and money, television, and sprawl. Each of these are key explanations, but they don’t capture the full complexity of this decline.