"Democracy"

Paper Summary:

This paper shows how, in his article, "Democracy," Robert D. Putnam quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America', who noted that the key to making American democracy work has been the tendency of Americans to form civic associations. Putnam shows that one way that people can find out about what's going on in their region of America is through the Internet.

From the Paper:

"This type of information is very important for the citizens of any town to be able to access, Putnam says. He stresses the value of "social capital," that is, the collective value of all social networks, and the way these networks foster reciprocity, trust, information sharing, and cooperation. He writes that the growing disaffection of citizens from their public institutions may be related to a decline in civic engagement, and contrasts with earlier periods when Americans had an abundance of social capital. Putnam says that the way that information flows (such as learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depends on social capital."

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