Why Robert Putnam Is Wrong

​We Don't Need Moral Revolutions for Structural Problems

​You may have read that Harvard political scientist’s important work, “Bowling Alone,” on the decline of social capital in America. He has spent thirty years urging presidents to fix it. But in the end, it was Steve Bannon who took his advice! Now Robert Putnam has switched his strategy; he thinks the solution is a “moral revolution” where we all become “social capitalists”.

​… Look, Putnam is a nice guy! but we need a better understanding of the problem and a better strategy.

​This lecture is about what’s really driving our isolation, and why the people tasked with solving it keep reaching for the wrong tools. Drawing on time-use data, neuroscience, and more, we’ll explore:

• ​how time spent alone rises after big shocks, and rarely comes back down

• ​how Putnam’s call for a “moral revolution” avoids talk of economics and power

• ​why rebuilding social life is a political project, not a personal one

​Dr Sarah Stein Lubrano has a background in feminist activism, mutual aid, and other local organising as well as teaching in prisons. She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. She was previously the Head of Content at The School of Life and wrote obituaries. Her first book, Don’t Talk About Politics: Changing 21st Century Minds, is out now. That book and her forthcoming book delve into social atrophy, the shrinking and changing of the brain due to social isolation - and the societal problems that cause this.

​We'd love you to come live, but otherwise you can access this via recording!