A Macat Analysis of Bowling Alone

In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam argues that Americans have become disconnected from one another and from the institutions of their common life, and investigates the consequences of this change. Looking at a range of indicators, from membership in formal organizations to the number of invitations being extended to informal dinner parties, Putnam demonstrates that Americans are interacting less and creating less "social capital"—with potentially disastrous implications for their society. It would be difficult to overstate the impact of Bowling Alone, one of the most frequently cited social science publications of the last half-century.