Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Striving for Community
- 3 Discontents Revisited
- 4 Social Judgments and Social Contexts
- 5 The Development of Moral and Social Judgments
- 6 Social Thought and Social Action
- 7 Social Harmony and Social Conflict
- 8 Justice, Heterogeneity, and Cultural Practices
- 9 Social Hierarchy, Subordination, and Human Capabilities
- 10 Perspectives on Cultural Practices: More Than One
- 11 Subversion in Everyday Life
- 12 Conclusion
- References
- Index
2 - Striving for Community
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Striving for Community
- 3 Discontents Revisited
- 4 Social Judgments and Social Contexts
- 5 The Development of Moral and Social Judgments
- 6 Social Thought and Social Action
- 7 Social Harmony and Social Conflict
- 8 Justice, Heterogeneity, and Cultural Practices
- 9 Social Hierarchy, Subordination, and Human Capabilities
- 10 Perspectives on Cultural Practices: More Than One
- 11 Subversion in Everyday Life
- 12 Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
I think Americans are the only people in the world today, I really do, who really, literally, spend most of their time – whether it's in politics, whether it's in satire, art, fiction, you name it – breast beating, baring its soul and proclaiming to the heavens how rotten it is.
—Jean Shepherd, storyteller, essayist, circa 1970 (Strum, 2000)The political scientist Robert Putnam found it symptomatic of society that American people are “Bowling Alone” (1995, 2000). Although the number of people who bowl has increased, they no longer come together as much in organized bowling leagues. These trends in what goes on in bowling alleys is significant, according to Putnam, because they reflect a general shift toward activities in isolation and away from activities in groups for either recreation or altruistic and civic pursuits. Putnam maintained that “social capital” had declined substantially over the past several decades. The notion of social capital is meant to capture features of social organization, such as participation in civic organizations, family activities, and neighborhood networks, that facilitate social trust and cooperation for the benefit of all. Social capital is measured primarily through data on the number of people who participate in group activities. Evidence of the decline of social capital, as cited by Putnam, includes fewer political activities (e.g., lower voter turnout and less attendance at public meetings or political rallies), less engagement with organized religion, unions, parent-teacher associations, and civic or fraternal organizations, loosening of family bonds, and a decline in socializing within neighborhoods.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Culture of MoralitySocial Development, Context, and Conflict, pp. 19 - 43Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002