Political scandals alone cannot explain Americans’ civic withdrawal
Evidence
Perhaps the long litany of political tragedies and scandals since the 1960s (assassinations, Vietnam, Watergate, Irangate, and so on) has triggered an understandable disgust for politics and government among Americans, and that in turn has motivated their withdrawal. I do not doubt that this common interpretation has some merit, but its limitations become plain when we examine trends in civic engagement of a wider sort. — Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, 25
Categorization
- corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining…, 25
- XREF: connects to: Time and money pressures alone cannot explain civic disengagement. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 681; Civic membership declines even as public agitation intensifies in America. — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization…, 22; Conspiracy exposure reduces civic participation and political engagement — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 978
Related
- American civil society vibrancy has notably declined over recent decades (similarity 0.82)
- Time and financial pressures explain very little of civic disengagement. (similarity 0.82)
- American civic engagement rose for two-thirds of the century then sharply reversed. (similarity 0.81)
- Time and money pressures alone cannot explain civic disengagement. (similarity 0.81)
- Declining trust follows from civic withdrawal, not just causes it (similarity 0.80)
- Neither welfare state nor racial backlash explains the civic decline (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Conspiracy exposure reduces civic participation and political engagement
#corroborates(0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 978 - Time and money pressures alone cannot explain civic disengagement.
#expands(0.72) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 681 - Civic membership declines even as public agitation intensifies in America.
#complicates(0.70) — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics, 22