The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again is a book written by Robert D. Putnam, a renowned political scientist and author. In this book, Putnam explores the rise and fall of American society over the past century, focusing on the patterns of social, economic, and political change that have shaped the nation.

The central argument of “The Upswing” revolves around the concept of the “I-we-I” curve, which describes a cyclical pattern of individualism and collectivism in American history. Putnam argues that American society has experienced a significant shift from a period of high individualism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a more collective mindset during the mid-20th century, followed by a return to individualism in recent decades.

Putnam begins by examining the Gilded Age, a period characterized by extreme inequality, political corruption, and social fragmentation. During this time, individualism was at its peak, with a focus on personal success and material wealth. However, as the country entered the Progressive Era in the early 20th century, there was a growing recognition of the need for collective action to address societal problems. This led to a period of increased social cohesion and collective efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, inequality, and political corruption.

According to Putnam, this collective mindset reached its zenith in the mid-20th century, commonly referred to as the “We” era. This era was marked by widespread social solidarity, economic equality, and political engagement. The post-World War II period saw significant advancements in civil rights, labor rights, and social welfare policies that aimed to create a more equitable society.

However, since the 1960s, there has been a gradual decline in social capital and collective action in American society. Putnam argues that this shift can be attributed to various factors such as the rise of individualism, the erosion of trust in institutions, increasing political polarization, and the decline of civic engagement. He highlights how these trends have contributed to growing inequality, social fragmentation, and a sense of disconnection among individuals.

In the latter part of the book, Putnam offers insights into how America can reverse this trend and move towards a more collective and inclusive society once again. He emphasizes the importance of bridging social capital, which refers to connections between diverse individuals and groups, as a means to foster social cohesion and address societal challenges. Putnam also calls for renewed investment in public goods, such as education, infrastructure, and healthcare, to promote shared prosperity and well-being.

“The Upswing” provides a comprehensive analysis of American history and offers valuable insights into the factors that have shaped the nation’s social fabric. By examining historical patterns and drawing parallels to contemporary issues, Putnam encourages readers to reflect on the potential for collective action and social change.

• The Upswing

• How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again
• By: Robert D. Putnam
• Narrated by: Arthur Morey

A distinguished political scientist’s brilliant analysis of economic, social and political trends over the past century shows that we have gone from an individualist “I” society to a social one. How are we” more community and then back again, and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger, more united nation – from the author of Bowling Alone and Our Kids.

Inequality deepens and increases; unprecedented political polarization; lively public discourse; a frayed social fabric; public and private narcissism – Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: this is the worst of times.

But we’ve been here before. During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, America was highly individualistic, utterly unequal, sharply polarized, and deeply divided, just as it is today. As the 20th century unfolded, however, America – gradually, unevenly, but steadily – became more equal, more cooperative, more generous; a developing society, more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less on our narrow self-interest. Sometime in the 1960s, however, these trends reversed, leaving us in the turmoil we are in today.

In a sweeping look at more than a century of history, drawing on his inimitable combination of statistical analysis and storytelling, Robert Putnam analyzes a remarkable confluence of trends that have brought We move from an “I” society to an “We” society and then vice versa.

He draws inspiring lessons for our time from a time before, when a group of dedicated reformers tweaked the ship, setting us on a path to becoming a society once again based on on the community. Captivating, exploratory and timely, this is Putnam’s most ambitious work yet, a fitting foundation for a brilliant career.

Putnam has reshaped many of the great strides of American social progress and recent indifference, in a new light. Rather than being the result of individual great men and women & key actions, they are instead the result of decades-long movements involving large swaths of the world. American society.
There is a blind spot in the role of car cult Americans & (sub)urban planning as well as a lack of emphasis on practices like reframing in disrupting communities and improving progress, especially especially in terms of housing accessibility. Nevertheless, the book provides excellent insight into the trends driving a more inclusive egalitarian America and the trends that have disrupted it. The author concludes with a hopeful note that the fruits of the progressive & communist movements may be realized again in the coming decades, following patterns set by the past of the United States. . A timely message in an age of individualism & atomization.

Great book, I highly recommend.

Putnam’s argument is that extending our cultural analysis back 120 years (beyond the popular 60) provides a remarkable perspective on the causes behind our current political and cultural crises. we. Instead of dismissing the polarization we have today as a predictable decline from the 1950s ideal, he sees our crisis as akin to political & cultural conditions. how in the late 19th century and how we as a nation overcame those conditions in the early 20th century, the effect of which creates a remarkable curve from polarization to cooperation and back to polarization again, and the effect he optimistically notes, we can do again. His method attempts to use statistical data as often as possible, from voting records to census records to organizational membership records, to avoid widespread criticism that the arguments His work may be too anecdotal or subject to researcher bias. It was as successful as it could be: trying to see the disparity in income from surveys and tax filings could easily have been done since the 1960s, but those same data did not exist in the late 19th century and There are points that he needs to fill in the data using weaker sources, but these are not the shortcomings of his book but of any study dating back to history. (Although, since I am a medievalist, I would say that studying late 19th century history is as difficult for me as working in 14th century statistics…) 2020, but write this two days after the attack on the Capitol).

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