Robert Putnam

I think he's wrong about the intimate ties. And the best evidence that I know of, including some recent evidence that has just come out in the last couple of weeks, say that family ties, close intimate ties, have been slackening. First of all, over this period, many fewer people are getting married, which is one kind of intimate tie. Secondly, few people are having fewer children. And why is that?

Because people are having sex less. That's the most intimate kind of contact, I mean, of social contact you can imagine. And especially among younger people, that also is declining. So I just think it's wrong. It's a little bit romantic in multiple senses of the word romantic to think that Well, we don't know our neighbors as well, but we really do love and cherish our most intimate ties.

Because people are having sex less. That's the most intimate kind of contact, I mean, of social contact you can imagine. And especially among younger people, that also is declining. So I just think it's wrong. It's a little bit romantic in multiple senses of the word romantic to think that Well, we don't know our neighbors as well, but we really do love and cherish our most intimate ties.

Because people are having sex less. That's the most intimate kind of contact, I mean, of social contact you can imagine. And especially among younger people, that also is declining. So I just think it's wrong. It's a little bit romantic in multiple senses of the word romantic to think that Well, we don't know our neighbors as well, but we really do love and cherish our most intimate ties.

And actually, many different kinds of evidence suggest that's not true. Now, of course, we're not going to be able to weigh my evidence against Derek's evidence here, but I wanted to single that out. And if I'm right, I think that's even more true. Devastating, actually.

And actually, many different kinds of evidence suggest that's not true. Now, of course, we're not going to be able to weigh my evidence against Derek's evidence here, but I wanted to single that out. And if I'm right, I think that's even more true. Devastating, actually.

And actually, many different kinds of evidence suggest that's not true. Now, of course, we're not going to be able to weigh my evidence against Derek's evidence here, but I wanted to single that out. And if I'm right, I think that's even more true. Devastating, actually.

Can I interrupt for just one second? That's factually false. Bowling is the most interclass, interracial sport in America. Blacks bowl more than whites. Not much, but they do. Is that true? Come on. I'm a fat guy here.

Can I interrupt for just one second? That's factually false. Bowling is the most interclass, interracial sport in America. Blacks bowl more than whites. Not much, but they do. Is that true? Come on. I'm a fat guy here.

Can I interrupt for just one second? That's factually false. Bowling is the most interclass, interracial sport in America. Blacks bowl more than whites. Not much, but they do. Is that true? Come on. I'm a fat guy here.

Upper class people bowl less than working class people.

Upper class people bowl less than working class people.

Upper class people bowl less than working class people.

Forgive me for self-citation here, but when you talk to an academic, that's what you're going to hear. I wrote a whole book about that fact, that there's a growing gap between rich kids and poor kids, rich adults and poor adults, that and all the ways you talked about. Marriage rates are steady or actually rising among college-educated Americans, plummeting among non-college-educated Americans.

Forgive me for self-citation here, but when you talk to an academic, that's what you're going to hear. I wrote a whole book about that fact, that there's a growing gap between rich kids and poor kids, rich adults and poor adults, that and all the ways you talked about. Marriage rates are steady or actually rising among college-educated Americans, plummeting among non-college-educated Americans.

Forgive me for self-citation here, but when you talk to an academic, that's what you're going to hear. I wrote a whole book about that fact, that there's a growing gap between rich kids and poor kids, rich adults and poor adults, that and all the ways you talked about. Marriage rates are steady or actually rising among college-educated Americans, plummeting among non-college-educated Americans.

Class is a big dividing line here on all these trends. And moreover, it's becoming a bigger dividing line than race. So the gap between college-educated blacks, let's say, and non-college-educated blacks is growing. And that showed up in the last election. This is fundamentally why...

Class is a big dividing line here on all these trends. And moreover, it's becoming a bigger dividing line than race. So the gap between college-educated blacks, let's say, and non-college-educated blacks is growing. And that showed up in the last election. This is fundamentally why...

Class is a big dividing line here on all these trends. And moreover, it's becoming a bigger dividing line than race. So the gap between college-educated blacks, let's say, and non-college-educated blacks is growing. And that showed up in the last election. This is fundamentally why...

I don't know if it's fair to say Trump—well, I guess it is fair to say Trump made gains among some blacks, but which blacks? Non-college-educated blacks. The same place he's been making gains among whites and Latinos. And so I think this has big implications for the strategy, the proper strategy for the Democratic Party. That's a separate question. What should we do about it?