Synopsis
A data-rich study documenting the decline of civic and social engagement in late-twentieth-century America and its costs for democracy.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workAmericans have grown increasingly disconnected from community life, eroding the social capital that makes democracy and mutual trust work.
It links the health of democracy to dense networks of everyday association, warning that their decay weakens collective life.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America.
Reading note
Read it knowing it marshals extensive survey data, so its argument rests on trends and statistics more than on theory.
Best paired with
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America