P SC 1113 1st Edition Lecture 7 A Nation of Joiners Outline of Last Lecture I The Data on Gender II The Data on Religion III The Data on Sexual Orientation IV Encouraging Discouraging V Who are You VI The 1950s and 1960s VII Participation Transformation Post 1970s VIII A Result Problem Solving IX Social Capital Outline of Current Lecture I Social Capital II Participation Transformation Post 1970s III Interaction Now vs Interaction Before IV Apolitical changes in the 70s and 80s V What Happened VI Consequences VII Is Social Capital Disappearing VIII USA Today Gallup Questions IX Scandals X Beyond Direct Contact Current Lecture I Social Capital A Connections between individuals B Norms of reciprocity and trust that arise from connections C 1916 the individual is helpless socially if left to himself D Benefits our personal interests private good 1 Friendship that helps you get a job later in life for example E Benefits the world around us public good 1 Groups that better the University These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II Participation Transformation Post 1970s A Individuals pulling away from involvement and leadership roles in organizations B Less formal willingness to interact with politics C Shifts away from interacting with people III The way we interact now is different from how we used to interact A Do you know the people who live next door to you Do you interact with them Are you friends with them B How regularly do you talk with friends from high school Is this communication entirely technologically driven C How many of your past friendships have grown stronger thanks to technology vs growing weaker thanks to distance IV Apolitical Changes in the 70s and 80s A Social visiting dinner at a friend s for example declines B Family dinners less common C Fast food restaurants more common sit down restaurants less common D Less card playing more casino gambling E Decline in spending time with neighbors F League bowling less common G Charitable giving declining V What Happened A Disillusionment war scandal B Evolution new ways of doings things C Too much bonding within groups not enough bridging across groups 1 We have a constant flow of opportunities to bridge but we focus more on bonding VI Consequences A Do you think people in general today lead as good lives honest and moral as they used to 1 From 50 in 1952 to 27 in 1998 B Trust in others decline especially among young people 1 Constant flow of negativity in the news which causes a negative view of the world around us 2 This diminishes our opportunities for private goods and interacts VII Is Social Capital Disappearing A Answer Probably not as much as we think B We re just arriving at the sum in a different way might need new measures C Example explosion of single issue interest groups D Example Technological effects E That said still implications on political world F Is there something fundamentally different about our generation that might affect these trends G Do you believe organizing on the internet can accomplish the same things that organizing in person can Why or why not H Are online relationships as fulfilling or strong as in person relationships I How much are politicians to blame for how social capital is changing VIII USA Today Gallup Questions A Would you say the government is pretty much run by a few big interests looking out for themselves or that it is run for the benefit of all the people B Do you think that quite a few of the people running the government are crooked not very many are or do you think hardly any of them are crooked IX Scandals A Abscam 1 Use convicted felons to catch corrupt politicians B Jack Abramoff cheated Indian tribes C William Jefferson charged with corruption D These things happen but they re the exception 1 They affect our views of certain interest groups X Beyond Direct Contact A Baumgartner and Leech 1 Many think of lobbying as direct contact 2 people in a room 2 Another assumption lobbying is about getting elected officials to vote a certain way B Reality these instances do exist but lobbying more regularly involves many players many moments C Berry s Four Strategies 1 Create and spread information which they share 2 Constituency influence let s take our members and get them to do something 3 Confrontation protest boycott direct and visible action 4 Law file lawsuits interact with courts write laws and hand them to elected officals