Thinking About Social Change in America by Putnam

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Introduction

American society has been experiencing some sort of dynamism which has been marked by various aspects of the people’s lives. In this article the author highlights the issues that have brought about social change in the American society. Decline in congregations by the people for instance in clubs for social endeavors has been noted to be on the decline with the passing of a few decades. The author of this article aims at bringing out the picture of the changing phenomenon of social capital in the American society. He achieves his objectives by first of all distinguishing social capital from the other forms of capital like the human capital and the physical capital. The author raises the fact that just like the other forms of capital that have value to the society social networks too are of value and have indeed being undergoing transformation. The origin of social capital is explained in this article and furthermore there is an explanation on what kind of society can be said to be in possession of social capital. This according to the author started in the 20^th century and was meant to reiterate on how human life can be made even more productive by the use of social connections between the people of America. The various aspects of social capital are well elaborated in this article with the writer pointing out that there are individual and collective components of social capital. The private and public aspects of social capital are also mentioned with the author explaining that the benefits of social capital are varied and can come in different forms for instance there are certain external factors that affect this phenomenon and they touch on the wider community other than the individual who makes the social connections that characterize social capital. There is emphasis on the fact that social capital benefits both the public and private entities. This is evidenced when the author mentions that even bystanders stand to benefit from an investment that has been made in social capital. Issues of reciprocation are also characteristic of the social change in the American society. This is because there is a norm that someone does the good for others in anticipation that they will do the same in return. For instance it has been mentioned that if one does not attend other people funerals then they too will not appear in his funeral. With this kind of reciprocity efficiency in the society has been greatly enhanced because of the trust that is associated with such connections. The various forms and sizes of social capital have also been highlighted ranging from the family, Sunday school class, community and even internet chat just to mention but a few.

Discussion

Social capital has also been pinpointed to be directed towards antisocial behavior like bombing and other ill motives. This is true because a number of gangs in the American streets present a form of social capital that is misplaced in agenda and thus ends up engaging in unlawful behavior. It has also been brought out how some other forms of social capital come from formal organizations for instance the Parents Teachers Association which is formulate for the benefit of the students.

The differences between Bridging social capital and the boding social capital have also been pinpointed in this article. That bridging capital has an overall intention of benefiting the whole society while on the other hand the bonding capital can be viewed to be focused on individual well being. There is also statement of the fact that bridging capital has a long sustained impact connection and ties than the bonding capital which can be said to be short-lived within the individuals of the society. Social dimensions such as the spirit of religion has been pointed to be the ones that bond people together for instance the Black church in the United states brings together people from different races. The author does not go very far in terms of describing the distinctiveness between the two forms of social capital. But still he sticks to his endeavor to get into the evolving social trends in the entire book. There is emphasis on the need to keep the conceptualized differences in the minds for the sake of the future information. In intellectual circles the debate about social capital in not a very interesting issue as mentioned in this article because politics have dominated all spheres of the people’s life such that issues that regard to social capital have been neglected. This can be attributed may be to the fact that politics in the society have proved to be taking center stage and prominence because of the impact they have on social and economic lives of the people. In my view this has made people to divert their attention from the fundamentally essential social capital factors that can even rise up against politics if at all they were to be given the adequate attention they deserve. The author has also underscored the fact that the role of national myths has also created influence because they emphasize so much on what individual heroes are capable of doing while not mentioning that collective efforts can even take the community to greater heights.

Though not admitting to it, what comes out clearly from this article is that social capital in the American society has been on the decline with marked weaknesses in the way people make connections and ties with one another.

Throughout the history there has been a weakness in the community connections in America. But this is in contrast viewed from the civil engagements that Americans have been involved point of view.

Conclusion

Social change in the American society is a phenomenon that has come out to be quite uneven because of its polymorphous nature. It requires adequate resources and evidence so as to come up with more valid information concerning the social dimorphism that has shaped the social capital in American society. Such evidence needs to pinpoint on the emergent issues that are actually responsible for social change in America. In my view this is quite essential because it is from such premises that one can come up with a valid argument that indeed American social capital has been experiencing weakening with time. Such an argument should incorporate all aspects of the society and its people. This is so because overlooking some aspects of the people would not amount to an all inclusive ideas that can substantiate on the fact that social change in American society has been characterized with declining power of social capital. I think in this line of thought it will become so easy to demystify the uncertainty behind social change in the American Society.

References

Putnam , Robert 2000,’ Thinking about Social change in America’, Chapter 1, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York and London, Simon and Schuster, pp. 15-28.

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Introduction

Discussion

Conclusion

References

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