The Vanishing Neighbor

April 28, 2014
The nation’s rich and varied social fabric is wearing dangerously thin, according to this perceptive but unfocused tome. Journalist and Clinton Foundation fellow Dunkelman rues the erosion of America’s traditional social base in “townships”—diverse, neighborly communities where different classes, ethnicities, and political stripes joined to solve problems collaboratively. With mass prosperity, liberal lifestyles, and the rise of social networking, he contends, we have devolved into a narcissistic society of self-actualizers who live within a homogeneous “inner ring” of intimates and “outer ring” of Facebook friends and blog coteries. All manner of sociopolitical dysfunctions flow from the atrophy of the “middle ring” of diverse township affiliations, he concludes, such as slowing technological innovation, the growing isolation of oldsters, and Washington gridlock. Dunkelman’s treatise mines sources from Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone to Jane Jacobs’s The Economy of Cities to reach a rich and accessible diagnosis of contemporary mores and discontents. However, the vital-centrist core of his argument, with its finely graded but indistinct rings, feels hollow and weakly supported (for example, a languishing neighborliness statistic: corner bar attendance has declined from 19% to 14% since the mid-1970s). The result is yet another sociological come-together exhortation that’s more fretful than compelling.

July 1, 2014
A meditation on the evaporation of American exceptionalism.The nation's perception of community is undergoing major reconstruction, writes journalist and Clinton Foundation senior fellow Dunkelman in this shrewd examination, which declares that America is "simply in the midst of a painful transition, and it's not clear how things will turn out." Through statistical data, academic articles and published references scrutinizing the evolution of America's societal framework, the author sheds light on the interpersonal erosion occurring in American neighborhoods and the gradual fade-out of what French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville christened our collaboratively minded "townships." Dunkelman casts wide comparisons between past and present levels of civic interactivity and patiently explores its evolving effect on how we communicate, with whom and how often. Utilizing a metaphor of Saturn's rings, the author equates one's "inner ring" as those they hold closest, with the "middle" and "outer" rings representative of less familiar and casual acquaintances. The author documents a dramatic cultural shift whereby more attention is paid to the "outer" and "inner ring" populations, with little to no advancements made in cultivating "middle ring" relationships. He blames the quick-hit interactions afforded by the digital revolution along with social networking and reprioritized social opportunities and motivations. Good or bad, Dunkelman resists taking sides and instead examines how affirmation has evolved into our target desire as individuals are reorganizing themselves into more homogenized and like-minded groups (e.g., Facebook friends), thus creating a dividing line that is increasingly polarizing. Particularly effective in enhancing his theories are numerous references to Robert Putnam's brilliantly researched 1995 essay and subsequent book Bowling Alone (2000), which dissects American culture's steady decline of social capital and makes an ideal companion volume.A thought-provoking, evenhanded yet inconclusive analysis on the nature and the future of community.

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September 1, 2014

There has been much debate about a perceived decline in the American community (e.g., Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone) and the decline of contemporary society. Dunkelman (senior fellow, Clinton Fdn.) writes that most of the studies focus on institutions and miss that it is the American community itself that is transforming. According to the author, changes in American life--in community and how people connect--have developed rapidly in recent years, and American institutions have not adapted to these changes, creating what is perceived as the loss of the American dream. He argues that America's "exceptionalism" was largely based on the development of township communities that required people from different walks of life to interact on a regular basis and our social, political, and economic institutions developed out of these relationships. But changes in technology and prosperity have profoundly affected how we interact; moving to a more networked society that creates different kinds of relationships and social institutions has yet to follow suit. VERDICT Dunkelman's theory is quite thought provoking and offers a unique perspective on current thinking about American community and society. Recommended to anyone seeking to gain a better understanding of the challenges of contemporary American life.--Michael C. Miller, Austin P.L. & Austin History Ctr., TX

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