However, it could be argued that issues regarding a person’s place of residence remain at the heart of the population’s concerns, for example crime, child safety and property prices. Berger criticizes Whyte’s account, noting that it only relates to middle-class suburbs and gives no evidence to show that a shift in location causes people to adopt a new way of life (Berger, 1969). In opposition to the distain delivered to IT and transport, one could argue that developments in these fields actually facilitate the retention of social bonds. In this way, they would enhance social capital.
Although Putnam presents a convincing case when deeming the effects of suburbanization detrimental to social capital, Berger’s criticism and Dewey’s assertion that ‘there is no such thing as urban or rural culture, but only various culture contents somewhere on the rural-urban continuum’ (Dewey, 1960. p.64) make a more substantiated argument.
Putnam describes the decrease in involvement of trade unions and leisure-based groups, those that are outward looking, whose members could be said to have ‘thin trust.’ He recognizes that membership rates of clubs and civic organizations has not dwindled so much as active engagement in them, reporting that while in 1976 Americans attended on average 12 club meetings a year by the late 1990s nearly two-thirds of Americans never do (p.61). The effects of this deteriorating involvement has been described as ‘the dissolution of shared identities, which is tantamount to the dissolution of society as a meaningful social society’ (Castells, 1997. p.355).The impersonal, contractual and heterogeneous nature of such organizations means that there is no widely agreed source of moral values and no traditional binding values within civic groups. It has been noted that at 1965, the point at which Putnam notes the beginning of the descent of society, crime rates grew conversely. Readings of these figures suggest that the wane in associational membership weakens the web of social ties and informal social control structures within a community and leaves room for criminals to operate.
However, one might suggest that recession to the home could be a result of increased crime rates rather than a cause of it. Instead, it could be the case that increased crime rates have been brought about by the relaxation of laws such as those concerning firearms licensing. Sampson contends that we do not need associational affiliation so much to satisfy our personal needs, which are best met elsewhere, nor to meet our sustenance needs any more (Sampson, 1999. p.241-292). Instead, our personal needs for inter-personal contact are fulfilled in internet chat rooms and interactive television channels. This does not necessarily equate to a decline in memberships to associations and shared identity from common interest, rather a change in the situation and method of which they are expressed. For instance, Putnam suggests the fall in membership of reading groups, assessed by time ascribed in diaries for the club meeting, as a decline in social capital. However, a search for a term such as ‘Reading group online’ can return as many as 100,000,000 relevant pages on the internet and ‘Book TV’ is a channel widely available on satellite television. Although this alone cannot confirm membership, the availability of such groups online and the almost universal ownership of an internet connection and satellite television in the USA might suggest that membership to groups has not declined, rather relocated.
Many sociologists, including Putnam, place religion as an important factor in society. Putnam describes how it contributes to society and labels its decline a key factor in the loss of community in America. Putnam claims the church as ‘arguably the single most important repository of social capital’ in America (Putnam, 1995. p.66) as an important ‘incubator’ for civic skills, community interests and civic recruitment. Durkheim calls this a collective consciousness. He remarks that those attending involved in a religious organization are more likely to vote, donate to charity and volunteer for community work as well as attending church-run groups. Henry Bargy agreed with this view and spoke of American church religion as ‘la poésie du civisme’ (Bargy, 1902. p.31). De Tocqueville described American church religion as ‘a political institution which powerfully contributes to the maintenance of a democratic republic among the Americans’ (De Toqueville, 1954. p.310) by supplying a strong moral consensus amidst continuous political change. According to Putnam’s research, over the last thirty years, Americans have become 10% less likely to claim church membership and actual attendance has fallen by up to 50%.
However, Luckman has argued that society no longer requires religious legitimating by religion whose defined doctrine, specialized ministry and ecclesiastical organization no longer fit into a society who now enjoys individualism, self-realisation and mobility (Luckman, 1967). Further to Luckman’s assertion I would venture that religion has been displaced from the traditional church meetings to mediums that suit the ‘modern society’ better. Indeed, it can be seen that religion in America has benefited from the susceptibility of national politicians to pressure groups such as political action committees. Religious groups can buy time on television and radio stations to promote community political action through religious unity. The setup of websites such as online-funeral.com, who recognize that ‘not every one that would like to, is in fact actually able attend the funeral service and visitation at the funeral home’ and provide an online ‘live’ viewing option, and sermonaudio.com that allows listeners access to over 72000 sermons mean that people are more able to be active in their religious beliefs at times that suit them.
Putnam argues that religion in necessary for social cohesion but does not assess the extent to which religious conflicts can damage society and exclude members based on religious differences, nor does he recognize the developing media in which religion can now be exercised.
In this essay, I have taken a narrower view of social capital and community than is the norm among sociologists, touching on suburbanization, association membership and religion, themes offered by Putnam in ‘Bowling Alone’. I have discussed factors that oppose Putnam’s claims that ‘community’ in America is in decline. Instead, I have suggested a change in the ways ‘community’ is created and shared in this more modern world including developments in technology and transport. I have also assumed ‘community’ to be a positive and desirable entity throughout, though of course it’s effects may have negative implications for a society, for example religious fundamentalism and the associated terrorism of late and the social exclusion of one community based on race. I conclude by recognizing that Putnam’s work raises much debate about the nature of social ties within society but believe that modernization needs to be taken into account to fully assess the current ‘community’ in America and to direct research to areas where ‘community’ is increasing in the current climate.
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