Putnam Speaks at IOP

Some of the nation's leading political scientists and sociologists discussed the declining civic involvement in the United States last night at a Kennedy School of Government panel.

The topic revolved around the influential book Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital by Robert D. Putnam, Dillon professor of international affairs and director of the Center for International Affairs.

In Bowling Alone, Putnam argues that the civic involvement of American citizens has decreased markedly over the last few decades.

The panel titled "Rebuilding a Civil Society: Is Government the Friend or Enemy?" was moderated by Dean of the Kennedy School Joseph S. Nye Jr.

Putnam joined a number of academics from the magazines The American Prospect and the Economic Policy Review, as well as professors from Boston College and the University of Maryland on the panel.

"Americans' connections with their community...have [diminished] over the last 30 years," Putnam said.

Putnam cited the declining membership in civic organizations like the PTA, the YMCA and the Kiwanis Club as evidence that citizens are not connecting with each other on the level which they did in the past.

The result, Putnam says, is a country which has lost faith in its civic institutions and has become increasingly disaffected with its national leaders.

Putnam argues that the country does not need to return to the 1950s era, but instead should create new civic institutions similar to those the country saw spring up at the end of the 19th century.

Economic Policy Review editor and Heritage Foundation member Adam Myerson was somewhat more optimistic about the current state of citizen involvement. Myerson credited "social entrepreneurs" with the mending of "America's social fabric."

These citizens, Myerson says "don't consider themselves conservative, but they are leading a conservative way of life."

William Galston, director of the Institute of Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland, blamed the apathy of the public for the break-up of American families.

"If you ask where is it that trust is developed...one answer, I believe is the family," Galston said. "Family instability and social trust are incompatible."

Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol said the inherent structure of the United States' political system was one reason for the tremendous associative nature of citizens in the past.

"American federalism...and the activism of those levels [local, state, and judiciary]...nurture a vibrant association life in the United States," Skocpol said.

Kay Lehman Schlozman, professor of political science at Boston College, asserted that the role of the more politically active citizen has come to mean one who can contribute to political campaigns.

"The role of the citizen activist is increasingly that of a singer of checks," Schlozman said. Schlozman also noted the tendency of higher-income groups to contribute significantly more money to political parties than their lower-income counter-parts.

At the end of his opening statement, Putnam said he hoped "tonight is the beginning of a national debate in the interest of connecting [people and communities]."

Putnam said he was preparing to begin a research project in which he will study the level of civic involvement in other countries, including France, Spain and Sweden

Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol said the inherent structure of the United States' political system was one reason for the tremendous associative nature of citizens in the past.

"American federalism...and the activism of those levels [local, state, and judiciary]...nurture a vibrant association life in the United States," Skocpol said.

Kay Lehman Schlozman, professor of political science at Boston College, asserted that the role of the more politically active citizen has come to mean one who can contribute to political campaigns.

"The role of the citizen activist is increasingly that of a singer of checks," Schlozman said. Schlozman also noted the tendency of higher-income groups to contribute significantly more money to political parties than their lower-income counter-parts.

At the end of his opening statement, Putnam said he hoped "tonight is the beginning of a national debate in the interest of connecting [people and communities]."

Putnam said he was preparing to begin a research project in which he will study the level of civic involvement in other countries, including France, Spain and Sweden