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The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

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  • Create Date：2021-04-23 14:52:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Robert D. Putnam
  • ISBN：198212914X
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Summary

An eminent political scientist’s brilliant analysis of economic， social， and political trends over the past century demonstrating how we have gone from an individualistic “I” society to a more communitarian “We” society and then back again—and how we can learn from that experience to turn the corner towards a stronger， more unified nation， from the author of Bowling Alone and Our Kids。

Deep and accelerating inequality; unprecedented political polarization; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private narcissism—Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: This is the worst of times。

But we’ve been here before。 During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s， America was highly individualistic， starkly unequal， fiercely polarized， and deeply fragmented， just as it is today。 However as the twentieth century opened， America became—slowly， unevenly， but steadily—more egalitarian， more cooperative， more generous; a society more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less focused on our narrower self-interest。 Sometime during the 1960s， however， our nation turned another corner， and all of these trends reversed， leaving us in today’s disarray。

In a sweeping overview of more than a century of history， drawing on his inimitable combination of statistical analysis and storytelling， Robert Putnam analyzes a remarkable confluence of trends that brought us from an “I” society to a “We” society and then back again。 He draws inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era， when a dedicated group of reformers righted the ship， putting us on a path to becoming a society once again based on community。 Engaging， revelatory， and timely， this is Putnam’s most ambitious work yet， a fitting capstone to a brilliant career。

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Reviews

Riley ，

I think I very much agreed with his analysis and methods。 The consequences of focusing on the self ring true with my world view。 It seemed very well researched， loads of data。 I particularly liked the end where he talked about how the progressives changed the world 100 years ago （a society about community and togetherness） and what they got wrong （an inclusive society。。。but only if you fit inside the box）。 That seems a pretty clear roadmap for the future。 I think he dismissed the influence of th I think I very much agreed with his analysis and methods。 The consequences of focusing on the self ring true with my world view。 It seemed very well researched， loads of data。 I particularly liked the end where he talked about how the progressives changed the world 100 years ago （a society about community and togetherness） and what they got wrong （an inclusive society。。。but only if you fit inside the box）。 That seems a pretty clear roadmap for the future。 I think he dismissed the influence of the internet too broadly。 The internet changes who and how we interact with society。 It may even change what community is for us。 Looking at the past can't quite grasp what that is going to mean because the internet has never happened before。 For example， in an internet world the people you interact with most frequently might live in different countries， so they will have different priorities。 This could weaken allegiance to country and make you more globally focused。。。。but less focused on your geographic community。 It may be that your connection to a Fortnite team becomes more important than your citizenship in your town。 What are the implications of that？ Maybe we already see that with hyperawareness of national politics and general ignorance about local issues。 He lost a star because it was dense to read。 Dragged on alot， a bit repetitive。 I think if you edited it down to half the size you could make the same points in a more accessible and interesting way。 。。。more

Lina ，

Having to put this one down for now because my library loan ended。 I enjoyed what I read！ VERY data driven。

Barb Cherem ，

Of the many political books I read over the past four years， this was one of the most heartening。 I resonate to Robert Putnam and the type of research he does。 I got such a better understanding of many trends through this book which had such strong evidence。 The one 20 pages of notes at the back speak to this。 To take such voluminous data over time and have it all moving in such solid trend lines was quite amazing。 And then to simplify it from "I" and "we" was genius。 The Gilded Age of "I" to th Of the many political books I read over the past four years， this was one of the most heartening。 I resonate to Robert Putnam and the type of research he does。 I got such a better understanding of many trends through this book which had such strong evidence。 The one 20 pages of notes at the back speak to this。 To take such voluminous data over time and have it all moving in such solid trend lines was quite amazing。 And then to simplify it from "I" and "we" was genius。 The Gilded Age of "I" to the 1960's "we"， and then back down again to today's "I" yet again was a coherent and rather compelling proposition。 So simple and yet complex。 So many areas of life analyzed from economic to political and beyond， and yet quite readable。 The cause vs effect were sometimes reversed from what I might have thought， and he demonstrates why his beliefs are the accurate ones。 For instance， the national leaders， such as President of the US were actually elected following the general public's sentiments by about a year or two。 It demonstrates what leads and what follows。 When there's the follower-ship there to support such a leader， then such a person gets elected， not the other way around。 I believe this moment is such an example。 At least I hope this is so now。 Biden's Relief （2 trillion） and now Infrastructure （another 2 trillion）， together with some persons who are experts in their fields （Yellen） are seismic changes to the "we"。 I'm counting on Putnam's tenets continuing this trend for what's ahead。 So much change is needed， and this administration's goals for Covid vaccinations have been exceeded， which begin to rebuild trust in government again。 It's a long trend line and one I hope he's right about！ 。。。more

Kari Barclay ，

This book totally shifted how I see American history。 Putnam challenges the assumption that economic inequality leads to polarization--if anything， his data suggests economic inequality lags BEHIND polarization。 Putnam depicts the 1930s-60s as an era of bipartisanship and collective spirit， known as the Great Convergence， which dissolved after the activist 60s。 During the Great Convergence， an amazing number of civil society organizations formed， which have been dissolving since the 1960s。 Putna This book totally shifted how I see American history。 Putnam challenges the assumption that economic inequality leads to polarization--if anything， his data suggests economic inequality lags BEHIND polarization。 Putnam depicts the 1930s-60s as an era of bipartisanship and collective spirit， known as the Great Convergence， which dissolved after the activist 60s。 During the Great Convergence， an amazing number of civil society organizations formed， which have been dissolving since the 1960s。 Putnam calls for a newer localism， collectivity， and commitment to civic life in the 21st century， that， like 100 years， might bring the country together。 。。。more

Will Atkins ，

Pretty goodPretty good book。 Well researched and detailed throughout。 As is the case with many of these books though， a bit underdeveloped in the operationalizing of their recommendations。 Essentially， their recommendation is “everyone in the country needs to come together from the grassroots up。” Sure， we’ll get right on that。

Greg ，

Another excellent book from Robert Putnam。 Similar to his Bowling Alone but much broader in scope。 He goes back to the last half of the 19th century when the problems that America was facing then - political partisanship， congressional deadlock， individualism， lack of trust in govt and other public institutions and lack of participation in community affairs were very well documented and are happening all over again now but there was a time around the middle of the 20th century when it was not li Another excellent book from Robert Putnam。 Similar to his Bowling Alone but much broader in scope。 He goes back to the last half of the 19th century when the problems that America was facing then - political partisanship， congressional deadlock， individualism， lack of trust in govt and other public institutions and lack of participation in community affairs were very well documented and are happening all over again now but there was a time around the middle of the 20th century when it was not like that - when there was a sense of togetherness and community and people trusted the govt and Democrats and Republicans worked together。 What went right in the early 20th century and what went wrong in the last 20th century？The author examines many different arguments and presents masses of evidence to analyse what happened over the past hundred years and why。 He believes that if America could pull itself out of the mess it got into in the late 19th century it can do it again。 。。。more

Angela ，

This book has fundamentally changed my understanding of the US。 The narrator was pretty dry and I think most folks probably would be happiest just reading the first and last chapters （isn't that most research driven nonfiction？） and I would definitely be curious to read reviews from other scholars & thinkers。 But damn y'all。 Also this book made me excited to be a person now instead of at a different time？ So that's rare I guess。 This book has fundamentally changed my understanding of the US。 The narrator was pretty dry and I think most folks probably would be happiest just reading the first and last chapters （isn't that most research driven nonfiction？） and I would definitely be curious to read reviews from other scholars & thinkers。 But damn y'all。 Also this book made me excited to be a person now instead of at a different time？ So that's rare I guess。 。。。more

LA ，

an excellent book， useful to have as a reference tool。 full of charts， statistical info， placed in correct historical context。 One for the personal library。

Kristen Campbell ，

Thorough investigation of the similarities between the Gilded Age and now。 Lots of graphs and interesting thoughts about our society， culture， and economy changing from "me" to "we" and back again。 Thorough investigation of the similarities between the Gilded Age and now。 Lots of graphs and interesting thoughts about our society， culture， and economy changing from "me" to "we" and back again。 。。。more

Qoka ，

Interesting， but a lot of history for casual reading。

Wick Welker ，

We're in an I-We-I groove。 Time to get out。This is not the first book I've read that gives a brief history lesson of the last 100 years about how America has swung the pendulum from collectivism and individualism。 Herein from the authors you'll get a nice review of salient events during the first gilded era （when corporate control had vast and unfettered power in the early 20th century）。 You'll get a good amount of data about cultural shifts that modify the mores which then influence who gets el We're in an I-We-I groove。 Time to get out。This is not the first book I've read that gives a brief history lesson of the last 100 years about how America has swung the pendulum from collectivism and individualism。 Herein from the authors you'll get a nice review of salient events during the first gilded era （when corporate control had vast and unfettered power in the early 20th century）。 You'll get a good amount of data about cultural shifts that modify the mores which then influence who gets elected and ultimately changes policy。 Putnam does a nice job pointing out that the "we" of the New Deal era was exclusively white and male and he presents excellent data about the subjugation of black Americans and women。 America has gone back and forth between New Deal regulation politics and the neoliberal libertarian methods of deregulation， social austerity measures and privatization of everything。 Needless to say， the neoliberal politics of the last 40 years have been absolutely disastrous for the average American。 Wealth has been stagnated for the bottom half of Americans since Reagonomics to today。 Putnam duly places a lot of emphasis on the 1960s as an inflection point from switching back to a self-interested society which set up the politics of the 1970s into the disaster we have today。 The theme running throughout the book is an I-We-I trajectory and how we could steer ourselves back to a collective mentality if we are deliberate enough。The main issue with Upswing is that the authors pigeon-hole themselves into a single theme and argue from that standpoint rather presenting evidence in a broader context。 What I mean is， they argue that America is in an I-We-I curve and they are going to prove it。 Period。 There wasn't much new for me with this book but if it's the first of it's kind that you've read， it would be very good to check out。 Similar books that I enjoyed were Evil Geniuses by Kurt Andersen as well as Goliath by Stoller。 I highly recommend Goliath in place of Upswing， the history reviewed is excellent。 Overall， I recommend Upwing and mostly agree with the theories presented。 。。。more

Matthew Green ，

Putnam's analysis of the political， economic， cultural， and social trends is thorough and highly convincing， and for that he is to be applauded。 It is actually something of a relief to hear that the current era exists only after a long downturn away from communitarian values and into hyper-individualism。 However， his analysis of the causes of the shift is lacking， and while he admits that to be the case， it was disappointing that he couldn't pinpoint it better。 It doesn't appear to be his fault， Putnam's analysis of the political， economic， cultural， and social trends is thorough and highly convincing， and for that he is to be applauded。 It is actually something of a relief to hear that the current era exists only after a long downturn away from communitarian values and into hyper-individualism。 However， his analysis of the causes of the shift is lacking， and while he admits that to be the case， it was disappointing that he couldn't pinpoint it better。 It doesn't appear to be his fault， but it's still a letdown。 Additionally， I felt like his recommendations for how to move back toward more communitarian values was a bit vague and overly broad。 Perhaps it has to be， but I do wish for something more specific and concrete。 。。。more

Steven Volk ，

Thoroughly researched， well written， intriguing and controversial look at the path between a country focused on "I" （the Gilded Age）， which， around the 1930s and 1940s becomes increasingly committed to "we" until a sharp pivot from 1968-1974， and a slide down back to "I，" and the loss of social solidarity。 He is astute enough to suggest that every trend he examines， from income inequality to chose of baby names， while performing the same "inverted U" curve， can't be attributed to a single causal Thoroughly researched， well written， intriguing and controversial look at the path between a country focused on "I" （the Gilded Age）， which， around the 1930s and 1940s becomes increasingly committed to "we" until a sharp pivot from 1968-1974， and a slide down back to "I，" and the loss of social solidarity。 He is astute enough to suggest that every trend he examines， from income inequality to chose of baby names， while performing the same "inverted U" curve， can't be attributed to a single causal factor。 Two fascinating chapters on race and gender make his analysis more complex and intriguing。 Much to think about。 。。。more

Camille ，

The compilation and examination of research related to social， cultural， political and economic trends over a century and a half is truly admirable--Putnam's work enables us to consider the commonality among these trends and directs both critical thinking and hope。 So interesting and compelling。 The compilation and examination of research related to social， cultural， political and economic trends over a century and a half is truly admirable--Putnam's work enables us to consider the commonality among these trends and directs both critical thinking and hope。 So interesting and compelling。 。。。more

Patrice Goodman ，

Enjoyed the historical perspective and the idea that we are capable of fixing the divisiveness that we are experiencing in this country。

Anthony ，

The first chapter of this book pretty perfectly encapsulates the moment in which America currently finds itself。 For a "small c" conservative like Robert Putnam， it is really biting to read his critique of modern American corporatism at the beginning of this book。The core of the book is about the conflict between individualism and communitarianism from the first gilded age to today， which many believe to be a second gilded age。 In many ways， this book is a defense of his 2000 book Bowling Alone， The first chapter of this book pretty perfectly encapsulates the moment in which America currently finds itself。 For a "small c" conservative like Robert Putnam， it is really biting to read his critique of modern American corporatism at the beginning of this book。The core of the book is about the conflict between individualism and communitarianism from the first gilded age to today， which many believe to be a second gilded age。 In many ways， this book is a defense of his 2000 book Bowling Alone， which some criticized for being overly focused on the an era （the 1960s-1970s） when social groups and clubs were exceptionally prevalent。 In this book， he attempts to explain this phenomenon through what he terms the "I， We， I curve。" This curve is how he explains the move from individualism in the first gilded age， to communitarianism in the mid 20th century， and back to individualism at the turn of the 21st century。 He applies this curve with a fair amount of success to economics， politics， social institutions， family， education， and culture。 Putnam is a serious social scientist， and this book contains some serious social science with a heavy dose of polemic fervor。 Ultimately， he outlines a case for the "I， We， I curve" with both history and existing research， but he makes it somewhat clear that he is providing a framework。 On one hand， he is making an argument and has recommendations for those who wish to act on his conclusions。 On the other， he has provided a framework inside which other social scientists might place their work。 In other words， he has not proven his point， but policy makers who are persuaded might follow his recommendations， while similarly persuaded researchers might conduct new studies to test his assertions。 。。。more

Leslie ，

I'm giving this four stars （very good） for the research that went into this study and the resulting thesis of this book as well as for the conclusions in the excellent final chapter about how we move ahead。 It's not five stars because it kind of bogged down in parts and possibly could have been written in a more engaging way。 Despite that， it is well worth reading to gain an understanding of how we came together as a nation out of the populist and self-centered Gilded Age to one that peaked in t I'm giving this four stars （very good） for the research that went into this study and the resulting thesis of this book as well as for the conclusions in the excellent final chapter about how we move ahead。 It's not five stars because it kind of bogged down in parts and possibly could have been written in a more engaging way。 Despite that， it is well worth reading to gain an understanding of how we came together as a nation out of the populist and self-centered Gilded Age to one that peaked in the early 1960s that was generally more cohesive （in cultural， economic， political， social aspects） that at any other time during the 125 years studied。 "Generally" because there were exceptions around race and gender。 。。。more

Markgrabe ，

Intriguing dataGetting to the end of this book was a bit of a slog， but the trends based in data the author lays out were intriguing。 Clearly content to be considered by the left and right alike。

Don ，

Just finished the book and found the last chapter to be a particularly well written call to progressive action in response to many of the political/social problems we have discussed。 An interesting aspect of his manifesto is that it is clearly non-partisan and socially/community oriented rather than "liberal" or "conservative"。 He is not looking to sacrifice individuality but neither does he look to take it to extremes。 I found Putnam's analysis particularly interesting from an academic perspect Just finished the book and found the last chapter to be a particularly well written call to progressive action in response to many of the political/social problems we have discussed。 An interesting aspect of his manifesto is that it is clearly non-partisan and socially/community oriented rather than "liberal" or "conservative"。 He is not looking to sacrifice individuality but neither does he look to take it to extremes。 I found Putnam's analysis particularly interesting from an academic perspective because is tracks and responds to so many dimensions of life instead of seeking just a single measurement standard。 This is the ultimate description of how solutions can be progressive without being "one size fits all"。 Amazon's capsule description of Robert Putnam says "founder of the Saguaro Seminar， a program dedicated to fostering civic engagement in America" and I think that says it all。I highly recommend the book as a discussion topic for social action。 。。。more

Kris ，

I was disappointed。 The bulk of the book is how we came together a century ago， and the last chapter offers general suggestions on how we can do it again。 And in offering those ideas， I feel like he failed to address obstacles that exist in this century that did not exist a century ago。

Steve ，

Looking at American life over the last 120 years ago and finding similar patterns of individualism vs mutualism in many different areas of life。 I’m not fully convinced by all the graphs and data but it is certainly interesting to think about。 Book was sometimes a bit tedious but it was intriguing to see US history through this lens。

Anna ，

I really like the characterization of the last 120 years in America as the "I-we-I" century。 Putnam lays out the trajectory from the Gilded Age with its massive inequality through the period of the 1930s-1970s of the Progressive Era and then to a new Gilded Age with massive inequality， political division。 He talks about unions and wages， gender and race （maybe slightly awkwardly）， marriage and even unusual baby names。 The idea that we have moved from being all in this together to being on your o I really like the characterization of the last 120 years in America as the "I-we-I" century。 Putnam lays out the trajectory from the Gilded Age with its massive inequality through the period of the 1930s-1970s of the Progressive Era and then to a new Gilded Age with massive inequality， political division。 He talks about unions and wages， gender and race （maybe slightly awkwardly）， marriage and even unusual baby names。 The idea that we have moved from being all in this together to being on your own really feels like the world。 I always think of it as the social contract but I-we-I works too。 I also found the idea of self-love as part of the "I" period as particularly compelling。 I find that whole concept kind of ridiculous。 Arthur Morey was terrific as a narrator for this。 。。。more

Peggy Hess Greenawalt ，

We listened to this and found it very interesting， informative， and enlightening。 Time to get the WE back into our vocabulary。 Let's go America。 Chapters with politics， race， gender， religion， and economics were our highlights。 Lots of research and facts supporting the thesis of this book。 We both found great food for thought。 We listened to this and found it very interesting， informative， and enlightening。 Time to get the WE back into our vocabulary。 Let's go America。 Chapters with politics， race， gender， religion， and economics were our highlights。 Lots of research and facts supporting the thesis of this book。 We both found great food for thought。 。。。more

John Calhoun ，

Putnam's core argument here is that from about 1890 until today， American economics/society/culture has completed an "I-we-I" curve whereby we were doggedly narcissistic/individualistic but then became more collectivist， but then since the mid-1960's we have become more narcissistic/individualistic again。 The main strength of the book is Putnam's careful data-gathering， showing that the "I-we-I" curve fairly consistently reappears in disparate stats like social trust， economic equality， unioniza Putnam's core argument here is that from about 1890 until today， American economics/society/culture has completed an "I-we-I" curve whereby we were doggedly narcissistic/individualistic but then became more collectivist， but then since the mid-1960's we have become more narcissistic/individualistic again。 The main strength of the book is Putnam's careful data-gathering， showing that the "I-we-I" curve fairly consistently reappears in disparate stats like social trust， economic equality， unionization， social mobility， civic engagement， etc。 The curve is very similar over time for all of these。 It's rather fascinating。 One interesting sub-point is that much of the degradation in social cohesion and economic equality， etc。 began in the 1960s--not with the rise of Reagan。 Reagan， in some sense， was really the maturation point of trends that began earlier。 I wonder， here， if this all suggests that the political fall-out from the Civil Rights/Voting Rights Acts contributed some here--we were all in it together after WWII， but that consensus fell apart over time。 However， Putnam also shows that the "upswing" in his measurements predated WWII and came out of the Progressive Era reforms to the Gilded Age。 Perhaps， then， the key pendulum is just rising and declining inequality？ However， this would all then seem to cut against the Great Leveler research， which shows that it takes something rather exceptional like war to stunt increasing inequality。 It makes me truly wonder whether the ~prospect~ of war， leading up to WWI， is what can bring a country together。My scattered theorizing here suggests the biggest demerit for this book is that Putnam doesn't have a very convincing explanation for ~why~ this all happened simultaneously， and， if there are various causal factors at play， in which directions they run。 Putnam tackles this question directly in one of the last chapters （no。 8）。 His basic answer is sort of defiantly that he doesn't have one--the popular Marxist/money-driven explanations don't work， nor does the war-driven narrative。 Neither fit the pattern of the I-we-I curve。 What he focuses on in chapter 9 is just trying to figure out what happened in the 1960s because that's when the pendulum began to swing。 Here， I think he sort of inadvertently teases out the possibility that economic inequality was really the thing that set people off， but it just took time for that particular indicator to change。 He also has some 60s-derived lessons， like how political activists should focus on issue campaigns rather than just political campaigns。 。。。more

Allison ，

Thick in statistics， I’m not sure if this totally got to how we will recover/change again， but it did offer an interesting view of the multitude of changes in America over the last century。

Julie ，

An update to Bowling Alone with much repetition。

Isha ，

I read this book for a class I'm taking on Nonprofits and Society。 I don't think I would've picked this book up otherwise， but that being said， I think it was interesting and a unique perspective。Where this book really lacked for me was the "How"。 The subtitle suggests that Putnam is going to give the reader a guide on how to shift the country back into a "we" mentality， but does more to educate the reader on the "why" and the data surrounding that。 There are 4 pages or so in the last chapter th I read this book for a class I'm taking on Nonprofits and Society。 I don't think I would've picked this book up otherwise， but that being said， I think it was interesting and a unique perspective。Where this book really lacked for me was the "How"。 The subtitle suggests that Putnam is going to give the reader a guide on how to shift the country back into a "we" mentality， but does more to educate the reader on the "why" and the data surrounding that。 There are 4 pages or so in the last chapter that really are the crux of this book。 I wish we got more of that and a lot sooner。 I found the amount of data and examples given to be slightly overwhelming。 I got lost in it all。 And on the topic of data， I really wish Putnam had not deliberately excluded many minorities （Native Americans， Asians， the Latinx community， etc。） from his analysis。 He says it is due to a lack of data。 If he had to not include them， I would've liked to hear more about his perspective on how the i-we-i curve would work in the America we live in today。Overall， this was an interesting book that brought some up some good lessons and thoughts to consider as we move forward as a nation。 。。。more

Todd Davidson ，

A fascinating tour of economic， political， and cultural trends。 Divergent thinking at its best。TLDR; I-We-I curve。 The US was an “I” society-focused in the individual-in the gilded age。 We then increasingly became a “we society” peaking around 1960。 Then we turned back toward I society。 We are now at the low point similar to the gilded age。 The authors show this we lots of data on a diverse set of measures。Questions and criticisms I suspect WWII supercharged the “we society” to a peak we wouldn’ A fascinating tour of economic， political， and cultural trends。 Divergent thinking at its best。TLDR; I-We-I curve。 The US was an “I” society-focused in the individual-in the gilded age。 We then increasingly became a “we society” peaking around 1960。 Then we turned back toward I society。 We are now at the low point similar to the gilded age。 The authors show this we lots of data on a diverse set of measures。Questions and criticisms I suspect WWII supercharged the “we society” to a peak we wouldn’t have seen。 Obviously can’t prove that。 But I’d suspect the natural I-we-I curve is less dramatic。 My admittedly tenuous evidence is the short shift to I society in the 1920s。They did not satisfactorily cover the internet/social media Balkanization of information and how that has affected the curve and will in the future。What I lovedThe ingenious ways they measured things over 120 years。 There are caveats but the work illuminated a lot that we didn’t know。Book gives us hope。 We can be an equal and free society。 We don’t have to throw out democratic capitalism， just need a few changes。 They were light on recommendations。 I liked their approach to tell stories of past reformers to inspire reforms today instead of saying do x y z。Excellent book。 。。。more

Lynn ，

I wish every person in America would read this book。The authors begin by describing our present situation of economic inequality， political polarization， social isolation and a weakened sense of commo community。 They then reveal that this description， which certainly fits our age， was also true in 189 at the height of the first Gilded Age。 Using both social science research and historical narrative they then describe how the first half of the 20-th century leading up to the mid-060's was a time I wish every person in America would read this book。The authors begin by describing our present situation of economic inequality， political polarization， social isolation and a weakened sense of commo community。 They then reveal that this description， which certainly fits our age， was also true in 189 at the height of the first Gilded Age。 Using both social science research and historical narrative they then describe how the first half of the 20-th century leading up to the mid-060's was a time of growing economic equality， political comity， social connection and a strengthened sense of common values， and how those gains fell apart from about 1965 to the present。 They not only offer the hopeful message that we once managed an "upswing" from conditions much like the present， but also offer guidance on what worked then and how we might follow an even better path now。 I hope they are right， and that 50 years from now my grandchildren will be experiencing that second upswing。 。。。more

John Kaufmann ，

4-plus stars。 This is an important book with a big idea -- one of my definitions for being a 5-star book。。 The only thing that keeps it from being 5 stars was its readability -- it was a little on the tedious/academic side。 The main idea is that since the Gilded Age， American culture gradually swung from individualistic to more communitarian， peaking in the 1960s， and has gradually become more individualistic again since then。 The authors detected this I-we-I pattern repeatedly over a number of 4-plus stars。 This is an important book with a big idea -- one of my definitions for being a 5-star book。。 The only thing that keeps it from being 5 stars was its readability -- it was a little on the tedious/academic side。 The main idea is that since the Gilded Age， American culture gradually swung from individualistic to more communitarian， peaking in the 1960s， and has gradually become more individualistic again since then。 The authors detected this I-we-I pattern repeatedly over a number of political， economic， and social indicators。 Further， what we commonly see as an era of progressive legislation （the 1960s/70s） lagged these trends by a few years， suggesting that culture rather than legislation was the driver， not vice versa。 The swing back toward a more individualistic culture over the past 50 years also helps explain the todays' polarized politics as well as the neoliberal economics （and politics） that have followed in its wake， with its associated problems。Highly recommended for anyone trying to understand how we got to where we are today。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0