Robert Putnam makes the case that the United States has lost social capital and civil society over the last quarter-century after explaining the importance of social capital and civil society in democratic societies. Tocqueville during his visit to America said, “Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations. There are not only commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but others of a thousand different types—religious, moral, serious, futile, very general and very limited, immensely large and very minute…. Nothing, in my view, deserves more attention than the intellectual and moral associations in America” (Putmann, 2000, p. 65). Even though Putnam admits that determining the significance of a few countertrends without additional research is difficult, he concludes that critical factors such as social trust are eroding at an alarming rate in the United States. He then goes into great detail about this erosion, and he concludes by outlining the research required to investigate these theories thoroughly.
This important book demonstrates that social capital decreased dramatically in the United States after the mid-to-late-1960s due to generational succession, the rise of television and urban sprawl, and the increasing demands placed on people’s time and money, among other factors. Numerous social problems have been implicated from the same, and as a result, ranging from poor educational outcomes to economic stress and tensions between and among social groups. The most likely solution to this problem is to re-establish social capital in the manner of the Progressive Era but using contemporary approaches.
Societal norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness have developed due to the accumulation of social capital, defined as “connections among individuals’ social networks.” Social capital is regarded as having the same value as physical and human capital. In the same way, social networks are regarded as having the same value (Putnam, 2020, p. 19). According to the author of Bowling Alone, there has been a decline in social capital in contemporary America. The book investigates the causes and consequences of this decline and potential solutions.
According to Putnam, there is a critical distinction between social capital that bridges everyone and bonds bind everyone together, including only those people. Outward-facing networks, as opposed to inward-facing networks primarily concerned with their members, are more likely to contain more inclusive social capital networks. Ethnic fraternal organizations and country clubs are two examples of this type of organization today. Diverse social cleavages, also known as bridging social capital networks, on the other hand, are outward-facing and include people from a wide range of social backgrounds. The civil rights movement and youth service organizations are examples of how social capital has been used to bridge gaps in recent history.
The possibility that social capital might restrict freedom and equal opportunity must be considered for this project to be successful. Because social capital is often easily created when it is in opposition to something or someone else. It is imperative to develop bonding social capital, which is unfortunately much more accessible to develop than other types of social capital. It is necessary for those who are oppressed to build bridges of social capital to advance through increased generalized norms of reciprocity to achieve greater social mobility. Readers are required to develop new forms of social capital that are not currently available to complete Putnam’s final challenge.