Robert Putnam

And that is their real serious health effects. And this is controlling for everything you like. It is really social isolation that causes premature death, but it also undermines the foundation for democracy. And that's

Another part of the title, Join or Die, refers to the fact that Benjamin Franklin, at the time of the founding of the American Republic, said, unless we join together, our democracy is going to die. That is, it refers both to the personal effects, which are big, and to the collective effects. And the collective effects, by the way, are not just democracy. Our economy grows more slowly.

Another part of the title, Join or Die, refers to the fact that Benjamin Franklin, at the time of the founding of the American Republic, said, unless we join together, our democracy is going to die. That is, it refers both to the personal effects, which are big, and to the collective effects. And the collective effects, by the way, are not just democracy. Our economy grows more slowly.

Our society becomes more unequal. The political polarization is a big consequence. of the lack of social capital. And Bowling Alone, the book Bowling Alone, first published in about 2000, but most of it was written in the late 90s, said we've been going downhill for a long time in terms of our connections. All sorts of connections.

Our society becomes more unequal. The political polarization is a big consequence. of the lack of social capital. And Bowling Alone, the book Bowling Alone, first published in about 2000, but most of it was written in the late 90s, said we've been going downhill for a long time in terms of our connections. All sorts of connections.

We've been going to fewer club meetings, but we've been going on fewer picnics, and we trust other people less, and we're less connected to our friends and to community organizations, but also to our family. All those ways in which we connect, all of them turned out to be going down. when I wrote that book. And now, 25 years later, it turns out they've gone down even further.

We've been going to fewer club meetings, but we've been going on fewer picnics, and we trust other people less, and we're less connected to our friends and to community organizations, but also to our family. All those ways in which we connect, all of them turned out to be going down. when I wrote that book. And now, 25 years later, it turns out they've gone down even further.

Well, I want to step back just a little bit. If you were a botanist and wanted to study plant growth, how a plant was influenced by its environment, you'd take genetically identical seeds, you'd plant them in different pots of soil, you'd water them differently, and then you'd measure and see which plants flourished and which faltered.

Well, I want to step back just a little bit. If you were a botanist and wanted to study plant growth, how a plant was influenced by its environment, you'd take genetically identical seeds, you'd plant them in different pots of soil, you'd water them differently, and then you'd measure and see which plants flourished and which faltered.

And then you knew it'd be something that you did in the soil or how much you watered them. That's what Italians did in Italy in 1970. They created a new set of regional governments all across Italy from up in the Alps to down in Sicily. They all had the same powers and money. They looked the same on paper, but the environments into which they were implanted were very, very different.

And then you knew it'd be something that you did in the soil or how much you watered them. That's what Italians did in Italy in 1970. They created a new set of regional governments all across Italy from up in the Alps to down in Sicily. They all had the same powers and money. They looked the same on paper, but the environments into which they were implanted were very, very different.

Some were very advanced economically. Some were very backward economically. Some were Catholic. Some were communist, et cetera. And so we, over for 20, 25 years, followed those regional governments. We could see that some of them were very successful, not only in terms of were they able to build daycare centers when they planned to, but also in terms of what did the people think.

Some were very advanced economically. Some were very backward economically. Some were Catholic. Some were communist, et cetera. And so we, over for 20, 25 years, followed those regional governments. We could see that some of them were very successful, not only in terms of were they able to build daycare centers when they planned to, but also in terms of what did the people think.

And so we could see there were some successful governments and some failures. And then the question is, well, what was in the soil? And we had a lot of different ideas. We thought maybe it was just economic wealth made the difference, or we thought maybe it was education that made a difference.

And so we could see there were some successful governments and some failures. And then the question is, well, what was in the soil? And we had a lot of different ideas. We thought maybe it was just economic wealth made the difference, or we thought maybe it was education that made a difference.

But we didn't guess what it turned out to be, which was choral societies, singing groups, and football clubs and so on, by which I mean, in some places of Italy, people in the region connected with one another across various lines, singing together. So that's what we came to call social capital. We were talking about these bonds

But we didn't guess what it turned out to be, which was choral societies, singing groups, and football clubs and so on, by which I mean, in some places of Italy, people in the region connected with one another across various lines, singing together. So that's what we came to call social capital. We were talking about these bonds

that brought people in a given region or community together across lines. And in Northern Italy, especially North Central Italy around Bologna, for example, there was a lot of that kind of what I came to call social capital, that is these connections among people. And they had very effective, still do, very, very effective regional governments.

that brought people in a given region or community together across lines. And in Northern Italy, especially North Central Italy around Bologna, for example, there was a lot of that kind of what I came to call social capital, that is these connections among people. And they had very effective, still do, very, very effective regional governments.

But some places, especially in the South, they didn't. They didn't have those kinds of groups and they had terrible, corrupt, inefficient, never answered the phone even, regional governments. Now I'm coming back to what Christiana asked about. Did they just have no groups down there? No, they had very tiny little groups. Families.