Putnam found Italian regional governments worked best where citizens already had civic habits
Hook
Italy’s regional governments worked best where people already had the habit of joining things together. Putnam traced the difference back about a thousand years.
Claim
Whether institutions work depends on habits that exist before the institutions.
Story
Robert Putnam’s Making Democracy Work studies the performance of Italy’s twenty regional governments since 1970. His finding is that governments performed best, holding other factors constant, where civic engagement was strong. He traces the differences back to about 1000 AD: horizontal governance and trust in the north and centre, vertical feudal rule under the Normans in the south, which he links to the Mafia’s hierarchy.
Sources
Check before posting
- The Wikipedia page lists no criticisms. Putnam’s view has been challenged; find the strongest rebuttals before leaning on it.
- Examples like choral societies and football clubs are recalled from reviews, not sourced.
- This cuts against the design view that apathy is a UX problem. If culture is destiny, a better interface will not fix it. Petar’s working answer: habits can change, but only if participation visibly changes something.
Counterargument
“History explains today” arguments are hard to prove, and other scholars have challenged Putnam’s conclusions.
Post angles
Facebook (Croatian)
- Putnam je proučavao talijanske regije od 1970. Vlast radi bolje tamo gdje građani već imaju naviku udruživanja. Znači li to da je kod nas problem u kulturi? Ili u tome što smo sudjelovanje učinili ružnim i teškim?
- Navike se mogu mijenjati, ali samo ako sudjelovanje vidljivo nešto promijeni.
LinkedIn (English)
- Putnam studied Italy’s regions from 1970 and found governments worked best where citizens already had the habit of organising together. Is our problem culture, or did we make taking part so unpleasant that nobody learns the habit?
- Habits can change, but only when taking part visibly changes something.