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Contends that political science must have a greater public presence, arguing that this has been a long-standing goal of the discipline, but one that has lost salience. It is noted that those who advocate most strongly the public responsibilities of political science have been the most vociferous critics of the discipline's scientific aspirations -- & vice versa. In addition, skeptical attitudes among leading scholars have inhibited political science's contributions to public life. How to foster a more engaged political science is considered. 21 References. J. Zendejas

Le recul de la confiance des Américains dans leurs institutions est lié au déclin du capital social, autrement dit de leur confiance mutuelle, de leur participation aux affaires communes et de la réciprocité entre eux. Sur l'ensemble des facteurs susceptibles d'expliquer le recul de l'engagement communautaire des Américains, le plus important est celui de la diffusion de la télévision dans tous les foyers, qui correspond chronologiquement et générationnellement à ce déclin du capital social. La solution pour résoudre la crise de confiance qui frappe les institutions américaines réside alors dans l'invention, au sein de la société civile, de nouvelles formes de connectivité.

Over The Past Two Generations The United States Has Undergone a series of remarkable transformations. It has helped to defeat global communism, led a revolution in information technology that is fuelling unprecedented prosperity, invented life-saving treatments for diseases from AIDS to cancer, and made great strides in reversing discriminatory practices and promoting equal rights for all citizens. But during these same decades the United States also has undergone a less sanguine transformation: its citizens have become remarkably less civic, less politically engaged, less socially connected, less trusting, and less committed to the common good. At the dawn of the millennium Americans are fast becoming a loose aggregation of disengaged observers, rather than a community of connected participants.

The social networks that allow individuals to work cooperatively toward a common effort are rapidly declining in the US. The result is that Americans have far less trust in their government, social institutions, & fellow citizens than they did just two generations ago. This deterioration in social capital has affected the well-being of American communities. When communities begin to decline, crime rates increase, educational systems weaken, & physical health suffers. It is essential, therefore, that new institutions be established to complement the present-day lifestyle. Social scientists need to spend less time in their Ivory Tower & more time thinking about strategies that can be applied to real-life situations. K. A. Larsen

Der Verfasser zeigt zunächst anhand einiger Beispiele, welche Bedeutung soziales Kapital für ein funktionierendes Alltagsleben in einer Gesellschaft hat. Er diagnostiziert im Folgenden einen Rückgang der Vitalität in der amerikanischen Gesellschaft, der sich in einer massiv sinkenden Beteiligung am öffentlichen Leben und in organisierten Bürgerinitiativen ausdrückt. Auch in informeller Hinsicht (Vertrauen, Philanthropie) ist in den vergangenen drei Jahrzehnten eine erhebliche Verringerung des sozialen Kapitals in den USA zu beobachten. Ursächlich hierfür sind technologische, soziale und wirtschaftliche Veränderungen (Verstädterung der Vororte, Frauenerwerbstätigkeit, Fernsehen). Es geht heute darum, überbrückendes Sozialkapital zu schaffen, um so der Heterogenität der Gesellschaft gerecht zu werden. (ICE)