Robert D. Putnam Quotes

• Community connectedness is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous difference in our lives...Social capital makes us smarter, healthier, safer, richer, and better able to govern a just and stable democracy.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Life, Change, Differences

  74 Copy quote

• School performance, public health, crime rates, clinical depression, tax compliance, philanthropy, race relations, community development, census returns, teen suicide, economic productivity, campaign finance, even simple human happiness - all are demonstrably affected by how (and whether) we connect with our family and friends and neighbours and co-workers.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Suicide, School, Simple

  63 Copy quote

• What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Views, Engagement, Membership

  Robert D. Putnam (2001). “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community”, p.58, Simon and Schuster

  60 Copy quote

• A society that relies on generalized reciprocity is more efficient than a distrustful society, for the same reason that money is more efficient than barter. Trust lubricates social life. Networks of civic engagement also facilitate coordination and communication and amplify information about the trustworthiness of other individuals.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Communication, Amplify, Information

  50 Copy quote

• Our national myths often exaggerate the role of the individual heroes and understate the importance of collective effort.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Hero, Collective Effort, Roles

  Robert D. Putnam (2001). “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community”, p.24, Simon and Schuster

  48 Copy quote

• Most Americans watch Friends rather than having friends.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Watches

  23 Copy quote

• Young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historic rate.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Dropping Out, Six, Historic

  54 Copy quote

• People may go to the library looking mainly for information, but they find each other there.

  Robert D. Putnam

  People, Library, May

  Robert D. Putnam, Lewis Feldstein (2009). “Better Together: Restoring the American Community”, p.49, Simon and Schuster

  40 Copy quote

• None of the people watching 'Big Brother' will bring you chicken soup if you get sick.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Brother, People, Sick

  13 Copy quote

• Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Keys, People, Being Positive

  15 Copy quote

• Social capital may turn out to be a prerequisite for, rather than a consequence of, effective computer-mediated communication.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Communication, Community, May

  Robert D. Putnam (2001). “Bowling Alone”, p.177, Simon and Schuster

  17 Copy quote

• Busy people tend to forgo the one activity - TV watching _ that is most lethal to community involvement

  Robert D. Putnam

  People, Community, Tvs

  Robert D. Putnam (2001). “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community”, p.192, Simon and Schuster

  15 Copy quote

• How well you do in life shouldn't depend on how well your parents did.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Parent, Wells, Depends

  19 Copy quote

• Unequal Democracy is the sort of book to which every political scientist should aspire--it is methodologically rigorous, conceptually serious, and above all, it addresses urgent concerns of our fellow citizens. As Bartels shows, much of what we think we know about the politics of economic inequality is dead wrong. Bartels's perplexing and often unexpected discoveries should help refocus the gathering public debate about inequality and what to do about it.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Book, Thinking, Economic Inequality

  14 Copy quote

• Look, we ought to do this for our kids... We ought to have a high school so that every kid who grows up here - they're all our kids - gets a good high school education.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Growing Up, School, Kids

  "Why you should care about other people’s kids". Interview with Paul Solman, www.pbs.org. March 19, 2015.

  7 Copy quote

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