The Upswing is Robert D. Putnam’s brilliant analysis of economic, social, culturaland political trends from the Gilded Age to the present, showing howAmerica went from an individualistic ‘I’ society to a more communitarian ‘We'society and then back again, and how we can all learn from that experience.
In the late nineteenth century, America was highly individualistic, starkly unequal,fiercely polarised and deeply fragmented, just as it is today. However,as the twentieth century dawned, America became - slowly, unevenly, butsteadily - more egalitarian, more cooperative, more generous; a society 'on theupswing,’ more focused on responsibilities to each other and less focused onnarrow self-interest. Over the course of the 1960s, however, these trends reversedonce again, leading to today’s disarray.
In a sweeping overview of more than a century of history, Putnam and RomneyGarrett draw on inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era, when adedicated group of reformers righted the ship, creating once again a societybased on community. Engaging, revelatory and timely, this is Putnam’s mostambitious work yet, with a relevance right across the anglophone world. It isan unmissable contribution to the debate about where we want society to go.
