>Now that I have a happy cat I will continue the argument. Last week I read
>Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone which demonstrates the decline in social
>capital in the US. I see much of it as being due to the decline of the small
>communities where everybody knew each other (the 200 people that we are
>programmed to cope with and can recognise) as society changes. There is also
>a generational effect as the very community minded generation born before
>the Second World War dies off. But much is due to the modern lifestyle.
Douglas -
I live in a small American town. You have described the history of our small
society above. We were, however, a town of 10,000, and we were still a
community. Part of the change seemed to have begun with increased wages,
children to college who did not return, the automobile and television as they
took the small town people away physically and intellectually. A
shared religion
does not tie us together, shared life interests, marriage to the
"girl next door" and
jobs that were once plentiful here in the town. The jobs have been
decreased by
modern technology.
Tom
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