Reasons behind the fall in social capital are suggested by Putnam (1995) one of which is economic, such as greater affluence amongst the workforce and higher levels of consumerism. Also, changing involvement levels of women in working environments which themselves are altering. Cited in the work of Putnam and subsequently others is the role of the media, and in particular television in falling levels of social capital that, in turn, drive the levels of social trust downwards. I will look at this theory about media influence and those of others, after examining briefly the criticisms of Putnam’s work and developments since the 1995 article ‘Bowling Alone’.
Reliability and comparability of the evidence are cited as reasons why there may be a simplification of a very complex problem (Axford et al 2002). Although Verba et al’s (1995) study of civic voluntarism presented data which supports the major trends identified in Putnam’s work, it also states that the level of involvement is still high in America, and in some activities is continuing to grow. Garry Wills (2000) proposes that the underestimation of new forms of social capital, that give rise to high levels of social and political trust, are a basis for criticism of Putnam’s work. He suggests that the ‘imagined good old days’, embodied in American culture by television programmes such as Cheers, are being replaced by activities like going to a coffee shop, with the difference that it is not such a male dominated world. Evidence such as this has not been acknowledged in Putnam’s work. Measurable indicators of political trust seem to be hard to identify, and changing rapidly. Many “normal” or traditional political engagements are being replaced by contemporary or increasingly modern phenomena. Citizens prefer to take part in legal protest as opposed to having party membership, and joining pressure groups instead of writing letters to public officials or newspapers themselves (IEA 2001). These are not the only criticisms aimed at the work of Putnam, the question of comparability is important. The study concentrates on one country, the US and some, including Hall (1999) argue that the culture in the US is very different to the UK and other countries. Hall (1999) argues that there is no erosion of social capital in the UK yet we see falling ‘levels of social trust’. Yet again, we must not rely on the data or the analysis of it being perfect.
The data itself is also criticised, as Axford et al set out under the title ‘other possible explanations’. This data is also symptomatic of the failure of governments to do well and concerns about a democratic deficit. On both the politicians and the system, cynicism is yielded. This is because of perceived failure to meet high public expectations, which may contribute to lower levels of trust. A democratic deficit may also exist in a system and may isolate the electorate and lower political participation at all levels. Axford (2002) goes on to say that the relationship implied in Putnam’s work between social and political trust and the relationship being ‘seamless’ (Newton 1999) is not backed up by research from trusted sources.
Leaving the works of Putnam and his critics behind for a moment others have given time over to the subject and have used different indicators than those of Putnam, who bases his on the idea of a link between social and political trust. Dalton (1998) points to the large Perot vote at the 1992 elections as a sign that Americans are not very trusting of politicians, by securing 19 percent of the vote he sent a clear message that conventional politics and politicians were not completely trusted. This vote was spread all over America even in strong holds of the Republican and Democrat party (McKeever et al 1999). This may be due to individuals in office acting improperly or illegally. Dalton (1998) gives examples of Richard Nixon, George Bush and Bill Clinton, in Watergate, Iran-Contra negotiations and personal affairs respectively. Lower levels of political trust may be down to more candidate focused campaign and governance, or just down to the way the media and opposition portray the individual. Dalton (1998) uses the arguments of (Rose 1995) and Wattenberg (1991) to point to a cyclical pattern of low approval ratings and low trust, saying ‘when incumbents loose favour, they are replaced by new political figures who restore public confidence’, temporarily. A more recent event, the September the 11th attacks, changed rapidly the political trust that we place in our leaders was covered soon after by Putnam.
In a further article to Bowling Alone, Bowling Together, Putnam responds to the changes in political support since the September 11th Twin Tower attacks. He starts the article by using the attacks as an example of the ‘palpable national crisis’ that he stated in Bowling Alone would be required to ‘restore civic engagement’ in the US. His nationwide survey conducted eight months after the terrorists struck was designed to measure the reengagement of civic activities and again asked more simple questions about trust in politicians. These are important in answering the question that is to be answered in this essay. The Twin Towers tragedy has to be the most important event in recent times. Even if we could conclude that between the 1960s and 2001 trust in politicians had fallen, this trend may have been disrupted by this catastrophic event. Putnam (2002) says that changes in ‘attitudes (such as trust and concern) have shifted more than behaviour has’. In the figures he collected a huge percentage of the sample said that they trust the government more than the study group just a few years earlier. Now over forty percent more had increased trust in national government, with smaller levels of heightened trust in such groups as local government, community leaders, neighbours and some would say surprisingly ‘people of other races’.
To ask if there has been declining trust in recent years, I would like to take ‘recent years’ as two periods, the first being the 1960s until September 11th 2001 and then the time since as the second period. This is as the period after the Twin Tower attacks have marked a new phase in America, the UK and in many developed democracies. It is safe to assume that people will be more loyal to the people in charge of their country in wartime. They in the case of America have two more years of the George W. Bush administration, and showed support, which was reflected in large mid term gains, unprecedented in modern times. We, in the UK, are further from the immediate affects of the attacks, and show less support for Tony Blair and his work to support the USA. The attacks, as shown by seemingly conclusive data from the Putnam team, have installed a higher degree of trust in politicians into the US public. Prior to these attacks the conclusion of the Putnam may have been correct in assuming that levels of political trust were falling, but his arguments are open to a great deal of scrutiny and his theory is perhaps too simple for a complex problem. Take this as well against the setting of increased media availability and attention, candidate based electioneering, a more educated public and illegal and immoral acts. The first period did witness a fall in the level of trust in politicians in my opinion, but the second has seen a rapid realignment as people strive to trust and to feel safe.
Bibliography
Fukuyama, F. Trust: The Social Virtues and the creation of Prosperity, Hamish Hamilton (1995)
Putnam, R.: America’s Declining Social Capital, Journal of Democracy 6 (1995)
Putnam, R. The Strange Disappearance of Civic America. The American Prospect Volume 7, Issue 24. (1996)
Putnam, R. Bowling Together. The American Prospect Volume 13, Issue 3. (2002)
Axford, B et al. Politics: An Introduction. (2002)
Verba, A et al. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Society. Harvard University Press. (1995)
Torney, P et al. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Citizenship and Education in Twenty-eight Countries: Civic knowledge and engagement at age fourteen. (2001)
Hall, P. Social Capital in Britain. The British Journal of Political Science. (1999)
Newton, K. Social and Political Trust. (In Norris, P. Critical Citizens.) Oxford University Press. (1999)
Dalton, R J. Political Support in Advanced Industrial Democracies. (In Norris, P. Critical Citizens.) Oxford University Press. (1998)
McKeever, R. et al. Politics USA. Prentice Hall. (1999)
Rose, R. A Crisis of Confidence in British Political Leaders? Contemporary Record 9 (1995)
Wattenberg, M. The Rise of Candidate Centred Politics. Harvard University Press. (1991)
Dunleavy, P and O’Leary, B. Theories of the State: The Politics of a Liberal Democracy. Macmillan. (1987)
Laver, M. Private Desires, Political Action. Sage. (1997)