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

- Robert D. Putnam

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

- Robert D. Putnam

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

- Robert D. Putnam

Most Americans watch Friends rather than having friends.

- Robert D. Putnam

A society that relies on generalized reciprocity is more efficient than a distrustful society, for the same reason that money is more efficient than …

- Robert D. Putnam

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

- Robert D. Putnam

School performance, public health, crime rates, clinical depression, tax compliance, philanthropy, race relations, community development, census retu…

- Robert D. Putnam

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

- Robert D. Putnam

Community connectedness is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous…

- Robert D. Putnam