Robert Putnam

Donald Trump is not the cause of our problems. He's the symptom of our problems. American democracy had these problems long before Trump appeared on the scene. And most importantly, we will have those same problems leading to faltering democracy when he's no longer on the scene. Donald Trump exploited this. And I mean that, so this is Bob Putnam saying, you know, Donald Trump,

exploited what I had discovered. That's not just me. Steve Bannon has said, I could show you the quote. Well, we were trying to figure out how we could get Donald Trump elected. And then we read this book by this crazy guy, Putnam, about bowling alone.

exploited what I had discovered. That's not just me. Steve Bannon has said, I could show you the quote. Well, we were trying to figure out how we could get Donald Trump elected. And then we read this book by this crazy guy, Putnam, about bowling alone.

Yeah. He's quoting, you can find, I mean, later on.

Yeah. He's quoting, you can find, I mean, later on.

They said, effectively, as I said in the book, but I wasn't doing it, You have all these isolated people. They're ripe for having a kind of populist come to power and say, you're all unhappy and isolated. Trust me, I'm the one. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like he's the guy?

They said, effectively, as I said in the book, but I wasn't doing it, You have all these isolated people. They're ripe for having a kind of populist come to power and say, you're all unhappy and isolated. Trust me, I'm the one. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like he's the guy?

Well, that's what Bowling Alone said, and I didn't act on it. Maybe I should have. Maybe I could have been president. You could have been president. President Bob Putnam. Yeah. And J.D. Vance has said something very similar to this. There's lots of empirical evidence. I won't bore you with all the data.

Well, that's what Bowling Alone said, and I didn't act on it. Maybe I should have. Maybe I could have been president. You could have been president. President Bob Putnam. Yeah. And J.D. Vance has said something very similar to this. There's lots of empirical evidence. I won't bore you with all the data.

There's lots of data that's saying the strongest predictor, actually, of support for Donald Trump, of places that support Donald Trump and people that support Donald Trump is social isolation. Now we're not just talking hypothetically, oh, it'd be nice to have more people joining clubs. We're saying the pickle that we're in as a country is precisely due to the fact that we're

There's lots of data that's saying the strongest predictor, actually, of support for Donald Trump, of places that support Donald Trump and people that support Donald Trump is social isolation. Now we're not just talking hypothetically, oh, it'd be nice to have more people joining clubs. We're saying the pickle that we're in as a country is precisely due to the fact that we're

I'm not trying to say we ought to reconstruct bowling leagues, but it's got to be something that brings us face to face. Is that making sense, Trevor?

I'm not trying to say we ought to reconstruct bowling leagues, but it's got to be something that brings us face to face. Is that making sense, Trevor?

Yeah. I thought he was a former.

Yeah. I thought he was a former.

Or is that even necessary? Well, yes, I think it is necessary. There are different kinds of social capital, different kinds of networks. And one important distinction is between what I call bridging social capital, that is ties that link you to people unlike yourself. And bonding social capital. Bonding social capital are the ties that link you to people just like yourself.

Or is that even necessary? Well, yes, I think it is necessary. There are different kinds of social capital, different kinds of networks. And one important distinction is between what I call bridging social capital, that is ties that link you to people unlike yourself. And bonding social capital. Bonding social capital are the ties that link you to people just like yourself.

So my bonding social capital are my friends with other elderly, white, male, Jewish professors. That's my bonding social capital. And my bridging social capital are my ties to people of a different generation. I have a little bit of bridging that I rely on heavily across generations because I've got my grandchildren.

So my bonding social capital are my friends with other elderly, white, male, Jewish professors. That's my bonding social capital. And my bridging social capital are my ties to people of a different generation. I have a little bit of bridging that I rely on heavily across generations because I've got my grandchildren.

And I'm not saying, this is important, bridging good, bonding bad, because if you get sick, the people who bring you chicken soup are likely to reflect your bonding social capital. That's a little bit what Christiana was earlier saying, the people who would really take care of her, who would bring her chicken soup or the equivalent would be Bonding social capital.