Social Change in America, Essay Example

According to Putnam’s article, the hegemony of society is harming the social cohesion. Overall, liberal consensus is based on shared values, and those who are thinking outside of the box are losing support. As a result, positive social change is harder to achieve than any other time in the history. As Putnam (1) confirms: “community organizations were no longer continuously revitalized”, therefore, they lack support. It is evident that people in America seem to pay less attention to their social networks than they did before. One of the benefit of community and social networks is to “foster sturdy norms of reciprocity” (Putnam, 4), therefore, without them, people keep on focusing on their own class and interest. Indeed, there is a reduced interaction within the society between different groups. The rich, for example, live in their own world, take their kids to private schools, shop in exclusive stores, and hardly ever cross the path of those less fortunate. This has a negative impact on social contract, and results in groups living in their own homogenous world. The benefits of building social capital are listed by Putnam (5) as “mutual support, cooperation, trust, institutional effectiveness”, therefore, they are beneficial for both individuals and the nation as a whole. Still, the author states that social capital within homogenous groups exist, but only on one dimension: bonding. As the author confirms, bonding social capital is beneficial for the society to get ahead, but bridging focuses on innovation. Therefore, it is needed for social change, and only collaboration and active discourse between different homogenous groups can result in innovations that create shared benefits. Strengthening collaboration between diverse groups, therefore, would result in positive social change.

Works Cited

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon and Schuster, 2001.