The Decline of Relationships

"Their ties, in short are to common symbols, common leaders, and perhaps common ideals, but not to one another"(Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital, 5)
  
Putnam defines "social capital" as "features of social organization such as networks norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit."He proposes that this is declining. I think the  passage above offers a reason why. Its not simply that social capital is declining because civic engagement is declining. Those two concepts are almost one in the same according to his definition so one cannot cause the other. Perhaps social capital is declining because Americans allow the goals and benefits of the networks and organizations themselves to overpower the sense of camaraderie that people get when they participate in these activities. Instead of tying people together directly through relationships that form when people come together, these organizations almost serve as a 'middle man' in tying people together. They are only related to the extent of that group and only for the goals and purposes of that group. They aren't actually bonded as people. This is a complicated process to reverse because you can't make people bond over nothing, but you can't measure how much of something to encourage before it overpowers their natural relationship. This is why the decline of social capital is so dangerous. If people don't form meaningful bonds with each other, they are less likely to sympathize and cooperate with one another which is essential to making democracy work.