There have many thoughtful responses concerning Putnam and the Bowling Alone
article in the past couple of days. A very recent one suggesting we go back
and read it is a good idea.
My take on Bowling Alone is that Putnam writes mostly about the relationship
between social capital and civil society on the one hand, and democratic
and/or effective government on the other hand. His hypothesis, generated
from an earlier comparative study in Italy, is that regions with a lot of
social capital are those with a strong civil society, and that this in turn
is clearly and strongly correlated with effective government and democratic
politics. In turning this to the US, Putnam charts the decline in secondary
associational life, what the Tocquevillians among us see as the basis for
civil society in our own history. He wonders, then, if effective and
democratic government will endure. While there is some beginning of an
attempt to explain the decline in associational life in Bowling Alone, there
is a lot more in the sequel article, "The Strange Disappearance of Civic
America," where the indicted, if not thoroughlyconvicted villain is
television. Again, as you have read Putnam know, though there is
generational analysis in these two pieces, he is not attacking this or any
generation. In my classes, we've been able to turn these articles into good
discussions of the degree to which good habits of the heart are necessary
for democracy and the degree to which television (and other solitary
technology, like the internet) is killing social capital. We haven't seen
it as an attack on this generation at all, but a questioning of the social
and economic structures out there. So those who have written that Putnam
has missed the impact of service are basically correct, for he hasn't
written about service. He has written about civil society though, and so
there are valuable linkages that we can make if we use these materials
intelligently.
So two lines of argument emerge from this. One is pedagogical, and
it is to use these articles along with community service, together, to see
if we can enhance our understanding of American society, and this will
differ with our courses and our disciplinary affiliations. The second is to
argue/discuss the impact of community service on social capital, to see if
service is replacing associational life -- I don't think it will,
incidentally, but I'm hopeful someone will convince me otherwise, for if
not, then to me it looks bad for democracy -- or if service somehow
rekindles associational life, or something along those lines. Either line
of discussion will be profitable for us to pursue, but Putnam isn't the guru
here, he's just the catalyst.
Bob Trudeau
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Nothin' left to do but Smile, Smile, Smile.
Robert H. Trudeau; Political Science Department; Providence College
Providence, RI 02918; (401) 865-2629; fax: (401) 865-1222
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