Analysis Of Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital By Robert D. Putnam

In his article “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital”, Robert D. Putnam argues that America’s once vibrant civil society has dissolved. This article was written in 1995. Putnam feels that there is a growing sense of civic disengagement and civic distrust. Putnam makes bold claims and supports them with statistics from studies and polls. An example of this is the data he provides about the decline in organized bowling leagues. He acknowledges its seemingly trivial nature but expands on bowling’s importance for bowling-lane proprietors and for the sake of social interaction (387). Putnam also sheds light on counterarguments to his thesis, but he provides more statistical data to back up his thesis. Putnam uses statistics from surveys and studies throughout this essay. Even while attempting to come to a logical solution to this issue, Putnam uses data to explain his reasoning.

A common thread piecing these groups together is that they are designed to help people. They are not designed for leisure. The one closest to social interaction is the support group. What did this imply about Americans circa 1995? Were Americans most willing to “socialize” and come together only if there was a cause behind it? However, this would seemingly be contradicted by the statistics showing Americans’ growing disillusions with politics and voting. Then, what could explain this growth in these organizations? It seems that a personal desire to create change was being lost throughout the years. I wonder if these declines in political interest have continued into the