Synopsis
A study of Italian regional government showing that long traditions of civic engagement, not wealth alone, explain why some democracies perform well.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workRegions rich in clubs, associations, and habits of cooperation governed far better than those lacking such civic life.
It shows that the stock of social trust and civic engagement built over centuries shapes how well institutions function.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Tocqueville, Democracy in America.
Reading note
Read it as social science; the contrast between civic and uncivic regions carries the argument.
Best paired with
Tocqueville, Democracy in America