'Bowling Alone'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that in his book 'Bowling Alone', Robert Putnam offers an interesting image of how the idea of social capital applies in the modern world and how people are becoming more isolated so that the idea of democracy is under attack, given that people have fewer and fewer community associations and community activities binding them together. The writer discusses that Putnam used the image of a bowler playing not against partners but simply keeping his own score, and he made explicit comparisons between what he observed in Europe, notably in Italy, and what he observed in America to show the problem he perceived and to suggest ways of overcoming this problem in the future. The writer maintains that while the image is to the point in one sense, it also overstates the reality and neglects to consider ways in which new means of communication that may seem to isolate people, like television and the Internet, actually contribute to a new sort of community and a new sort of unity and are themselves a unifying cultural element.

From the Paper:

"Putnam has also addressed the same issues in an American context. In doing this, he counters de Tocqueville, who observed Americans in the nineteenth century and saw Americans as forming a wide variety of associations that strengthened American democracy. More recently it has been thought that this habit was waning and that therefore the stuff of civil society was eroding, meaning those cultural elements that bind society together around certain cultural norms. Putnam addresses the issue with reference to bowling leagues and to the fact that the number of bowlers increased 10 percent between 1980 and 1993 while league bowling declined by 40 percent. Putnam offers other measures of proof that participation in associations has declined, including lower voter turnout, reduced participation in religious services, reduced membership in trade unions, reduced membership in the PTA, and so on. A number of reasons might be given for this, including the development of new technologies such as television which keep people home more and other social changes which reduce the time people have for joining associations."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Coleman, J.S. (1987). Norms as Social Capital. In Economic Imperialism, G. Radnitzky, P. Bernholz (eds.). New York: Paragon House.
• Oakerson, R.J. (1988). Reciprocity: A Bottom-Up View of Political Development. In Rethinking Institutional Analysis and Development, V. Ostrom, D. Feeny, and H. Picht (eds.). San Francisco: IES Press.
• Putnam, R.D. (1993). "The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life." The American Prospect No. 13, 35-42.
• Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• "The Solitary Bowler." The Economist (February 18, 1995), 21-22.

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