The Paradox of American Democracy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11625414 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kyoko Tokuhisa (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 294-312,355 |
| Publication date | 2005-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annuals of Japanese Political Science Association (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0549-4192 • E-ISSN: 1884-3913 |
| Publisher | Japanese Political Science Association (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.7218/nenpouseijigaku1953.56.1_294 |
| OpenAlex | W2512441275 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 1 |
The aim of this paper is to explain that the so-called ‘crisis of American democracy’ revealed from 1960s is related to changes in the quality of “social capital”. R. D. Putnam contends that the accumulation of social capital enhances the performance of democratic institutions. Conversely, a decrease in social capital can lead to democratic malfunctioning. Expanding this argument, Putman analyzed different forms of people's engagement in public life, and concluded that the decline of civic virtue in the US was not directly caused by changes in socio-economic structure and formal institutions.This paper takes a critical stance on Putnam's view and examines the weakening of social capital in the US in relation to changes in institutional design which resulted from industrialization and the development of the welfare state. It argues that it was institutionally-embedded liberalism that invited the collapse of traditional forms of ‘American community’ by promoting self-centred action based on “utilitarian and expressive individualism”. This contributed to the decline of republican traditions and the diminishing of social capital, thereby undermining the democratic performance of institutions
Argument (complex analysis · Capital (architecture · Democracy · Economic growth · Economics · Financial capital · Human capital · Individual capital · Individualism · Industrialisation · Liberalism · Neoclassical economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social capital · Sociology · Virtue · Welfare state · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2016 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |