When people do not participate in politics there is a higher tendency for people to be dissatisfied w/ how the government works. This map displays the large number of people that decided to not vote in the 2024 Presidential election. Robert Putnam wrote "Bowling Alone" & it describes America's decades-long decline in community connections that may hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis.Netflix's documentary "Join or Die" https://youtu.be/XKgQr6fhbxE is a good summary.#politics #voting
@Victor Thanks.. just watched the link.. the problem with "social capital.." is that is does not solve the problem of "rugged individualism" .. in other words, GREED! Our economic system is based on unfettered greed.. hecks, even the homeless fight over possession of "stuff.." I worked at country clubs.. lots of "social capital" .. just not the productive sharing kind.
@JazzCrafter The premise of the documentary "Join or Die" as well as the book was to understand why social capital has declined--which is a more recent (after the 1960's) issue. It also looks at the consequences of the decline of civic engagement and how it affects governments and specifically democratic governments where voting is a civic duty. There were a few ideas as to how this trend might be reversed and possibly save a democratic government or at best, make the government better.
@JazzCrafter Apathy is and will continue to be a killer of democracy. Russians are known for their gloomy outlook of life and have basically given up on changing their government and have grown accustomed to having "strong" leaders. Don't think that US is at this stage but voter apathy may give a hint as to where it is going.