FWers might be interested in a Putnam interview in today's Financial Times:
<<<<
In both the US and in Europe, the largest issue coming up is ethnic mix and
immigration. I don;t want to sound like Enoch Powell: this is not a
forecast of rivers of blood. Further, I am in favour of immigration: it has
enriched America.
But there will be very large shifts. Already, a number of the largest
cities like Los Angeles are mostly non-white. Boston soon will be. By the
mid-century, the majority of Americans will not be white.
At the moment white people in work are paying for non-white people out of
work. By mid-century, non-white people in work will be paying for white
people who have retired. Is this sustainable in our society?
We have just done a very large survey of social capital, working with
community groups across the country. It's by far the largest of its kind
done in US cities. And it is very disturbing.
In very crude terms, it shows that where there is the greatest diversity of
race, there is the least social capital. There are very low levels of
trust. And it is not just that the Hispanics don't trust the Asians, or the
blacks don't trust the whites. It is that the Hispanics don't trust other
Hispanics, the whites don't trust other whites.
It seems to show that we are not embracing diversity, and we need to. And
not of race but also of class. The study shows that in these areas where
there is little social capital and low trust, the people who do go to
meeting and join in are disproportionately those with higher education. The
others don't involved at all.
In the UK at the end of the 19th century there was a great lack of social
capital. There had been massive industrialisation and rapid urbanisation: a
lot of the social capital had been destroyed. And then it was all
consciously built up in all kinds of ways -- by baden-Powell and his
scouts, by churches, by freindly societies -- these were very improtant --
and by charities. All this happened at about the same time because all were
answering to a need.
>>>>
Keith H
___________________________________________________________________
Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus <http://www.calus.org>
6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England
Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727;
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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