Civic Disengagement

The father of all recent discussions about the civic disengagement of Americans is Robert Putnam, the political scientist who seems to cover all the relevant bases in his celebrated and aptly titled book "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community."

His famous claim is that civic engagement - or activity in the public sphere (that arena which is exclusive of both our family lives and our work lives) - has dramatically declined, at least since 1965. This decline is also marked by a severe drop in the creation of what he calls "social capital," or the connections among individuals and social networks that augment the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness. Although social capital can be exclusionary and an obstacle to the creation of public good, it is, for the most part, a positive result of widespread civic engagement that encourages "mutual obligation and responsibility for action." Communities in which social capital is common are more likely to practice forms of social cooperation that emphasize and seek to foster each community member's well being.

Putnam argues that four factors have contributed most to this decline in civic engagement. 1)Economic pressures, especially those arising from the increased need for two-earner families. 2)Suburban sprawl and the spreading out of local communities. 3)Television and other screen-focused activities contributing to people becoming more home-bound. 4)Last, and most mysteriously, a broad-based generational loss of interest and commitment to the public sphere and an increasing reliance on private interactions as a primary form of amusement and stimulation.

Putnam discounts race as a contributing factor to the phenomenon of civic disengagement, but I think he underestimates how fearful many white people have become about participating in public settings where there is a great deal of diversity. This apprehension about venturing into diverse settings is pretty widespread and has become especially common since 1965, when many communities have undergone significant desegregation. Since the 70s at least the trend has been that white people are reluctant to contribute to discussions and deliberations in communities that they have come to regard as alien. 

I should add that such apprehension is almost invariably the result of unfounded fears that are not borne out by actual experience in such communities, so the main challenge is finding ways to expose people to the hospitality and kindliness of these communities.  At Wagner, our experience has been that students who are wary about Port Richmond at first become enthusiastic about being active members of that community once they actually log a few hours there and get to know its compassionate and friendly residents.