Bowling Alone

Robert D. Putnam argues that civil society is breaking down as Americans become more alienated and disconnected from families, neighbors, and their communities. He uses the metaphor of the bowling league - years ago many people belonged to bowling leagues. Today they tend to bowl alone. Putnam provides an explanation for the results of frequent surveys all of which say that we wish to live in a more civil, a more trustworthy, and a more collectively caring community. He explains how Americans have expended the good will and social intercourse that constitute basic neighborliness, to such an extent that they feel isolated and alienated in spite of some economic prosperity. And as social groups decline, so do civic, religious, and work groups.

The book is divided into four sections: he first explains the deterioration in relationships, telling us what is happening. The second section discusses the reasons - why this is happening. The third section lists some negative consequences and the fourth suggests what to do.

The first section is titled, "Trends in Civic Engagement and Social Capital" and includes detailed statistics. The magnitude and breadth of information presented is impressive. This part of the book shows how participation in social activities grew steadily from the early part of the century until the 1960s (except for a dip during the depression) and that this participation has steadily declined ever since. Americans spend far less time together, both formally and informally, than they did in the past. Americans don't talk by phone as much as they used to or even go on picnics together as often as they did before. Putnam reviews a large number of activities, including participation in organized activities (civic organizations, religions, clubs, school-related activities) as well as informal social activities (dinner parties, socializing at work, card clubs, talking in neighborhood bars). Participation in all has declined significantly. Formal membership in organizations has dropped by 10-20 percent.

Even in the formal organizations, we rarely meet with other members, but often simply pay dues, leaving the running of organizations to professionals. Active involvement in clubs and other voluntary associations has declined at an unfortunately very high rate. Attendance at conventional churches is also down.  

Putnam summarized these aspects of relationship between people as “social capital” and notes this is the same as the more general term of “community”. Social capital describes the emotional and practical benefits of personal relationships. Social capital is correlated with trust, low crime rates, lack of stress and other factors. It includes the development of relationships that provide a group of friends and acquaintances who can be relied upon when time are hard. Each relationship is an asset, the accumulation of which can be called one's "social capital. He distinguishes between "bridging social capital" (casual connections among people of different groups) and "bonding social capital" (strong connections among those within groups), and notes that bridging social capital is more effective in causing positive social effects. Bonding capital coalesces similar groups while bridging capital exists beyond socioeconomic groups. Bonding helps us to get by and can be limited to family and close friends. Bridging helps us develop socially, becoming involved in relationships with people different than ourselves.

The second section attempts to explain what is causing this change for the worse. Putnam brings up such factors as longer hours at work, urban sprawl and the negative consequences of media, particularly television. He discusses the key factor of generational change, which could be more of a symptom than a cause of the disappearance of involvement in community. He claims each generation since the pre-war generation has been less socially inclined, implying that people haven't been changing but rather generations have been changing. He shows that the turning point was the time of the Sixties.

A major reason for this deterioration is television, which now takes most of our free time. Each generation watches more of it more often. Watching is frequently done alone and often just viewed at random, rather than viewing specific shows. Other less significant causes of social capital decline include the entry of women into the workforce, since women do more organizing of social events than men. Urban sprawl is also noted since it takes much more time and effort to see friends or attend social events. Putnam does not pay much attention to the Vietnam War nor the growth of welfare, which reduced the need for many charitable organizations. He gives little credence to feminism and civil rights as relevant causes.

Mobility and the associated urban sprawl are not considered by Putnam to be that significant. It may be that the role of the automobile as a major contributor has not been considered in all its implications. For example, the increased use of automobiles in transporting children to school, eliminates the socializing of bus transport or even walking to school in groups.

In the third section Putnam explains the negative consequences of the decline in social capital.  Our reduced sense of community degrades education, causes unsafe neighborhoods, reduces economic prosperity, affects personal health and happiness, and the even lowers the effectiveness of our democracy. The increased use of professional campaign staff who replace volunteers and the dependence on corporate money to maintain "democracy" is very dangerous. High social capital shows the strongest correlation with quality of education, not government spending. Higher social capital is also related to safer neighborhoods, better health, more happiness, and higher tolerance.  

The fourth section addresses action that we need to take. This part recounts the social movements that characterized the Gilded Age (up to 1900) and the Progressive Era (1900-1930), periods that gave rise to the stock of social capital that has been dissipated in the last three decades of the twentieth century. These eras showed the same concerns about societal declines. Society eventually found answers, possibly based on the world wars. Some negative forms of institutions are discussed that are exclusive in nature and have negatively contributed to people's images of “joining."

Putnam notes four major factors that have resulted in a decline in social community. The first is generational change - a gradual shift over time of community involvement. This is a serious matter since we learn much about community involvement with others through our parents and grandparents. So as social capital declines, it becomes more difficult to teach the “caring” values to subsequent generations. The second major factor is television and other forms of electronic media. The two other significant factors are the rise of the two-career family, meaning wives are not at home dealing with the social capital activities, and suburban sprawl. The latter implies more and more separation from people and more time alone in the automobile.

Much of the isolation so well detailed in this book is the result of the long-term corrosive effects of materialism, with concentration on gaining more wealth and more affluent lifestyles. Many Americans are entirely focused on "getting ahead" and anything interfering with this obsession for greater material security is ignored. In one sense, we have no “community” because we have no culture that values it. The technical revolution of telecommunications and entertainment has largely destroyed the set of meanings based on relationships. All we have left is a mutual acquisition society, based primarily on our mutual lust for material goods. It would have been interesting for Putnam to associate house sizes, internet connections, luxury products and SUVs with social capital. We still have a sizable number of hours each week for relaxation and involvement but use these to be spectators on the fantasy lives of celebrities and TV personalities.  We have forgone the potential richness of personal relationships for a false media reality displayed on our television screens and PC monitors. Life, more than anything else, is about personal relationships, and it is sad to see how the current society avoids these relationships.