Review of "Join or Die." Luke Newton, Washington and Lee University (W&L), Creative Investment Research.
I recently attended a screening of the documentary Join or Die , and a Q&A session with the directors of the film, Pete and Rebecca Davis. US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) also participated in the Q&A. Join or Die explores the work of political scientist Robert Putnam and the relationship between economic prosperity and social capital. Putnam studied at Swarthmore, Oxford, Yale, and has had a successful career as a Harvard professor. He first observed the social capital phenomenon while studying regional governments in Italy, trying to explain why some worked and why some didn’t. Putnam noticed that flourishing governments always had high levels of social connection and community engagement, evident in a large number of local clubs, organizations, etc. that spanned the local community. He found that “civic engagement” was a better predictor of a successful government than education, wealth, or any other factor. Upon his return, Put...