Diverse Communities: The Problem with Social Capital

Diverse Communities is a critique of Robert Putnam's social capital thesis, re-examined from the perspective of women and cultural minorities in America over the last century. Barbara Arneil argues that the idyllic communities of the past were less positive than Putnam envisions and that the current collapse in participation is the result of change rather than decline. Arneil suggests the cause of this change is not a decline in volunteerism, television or suburban sprawl but rather the unleashing of powerful economic, social and cultural forces that, despite having led to division and distrust within American society, have also contributed to greater justice for women and cultural minorities. She concludes by proposing that lessons learned from the past and present provide the normative foundation from which to challenge such policies and enumerate the principles of justice by which diverse communities might be governed in the twenty-first century.

Barbara Arneil is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia