Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone, " a best-selling book that looked at the decline of social and civic life in America, says bridge and bridge lunches were once part of the glue of communities.

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Still others claim national service is needed because civic involvement in America is in long-term decline (as evidence, they cite falling voter turnout and Robert Putnam's argument that Americans are joining community organisations less than they used to).

ECONOMIST: Lexington

It is not only a series of popes but also a number of prominent secular thinkers who believe that the birth-control pill has been one of the major milestones in human history a diverse group that runs from public intellectuals of a previous generation like Walter Lippmann to such contemporary scholars as Francis Fukuyama and Robert Putnam.

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When community groups send out appeals for help, convince local merchants to volunteer supplies and staff the tables providing coffee and donuts for the volunteers, we create the social capital which the political scientist Robert Putnam has identified as crucial to healthy societies. (His famous example was that of the choral societies of northern Italy).

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Still, Robert Reynolds, the president and chief executive of Putnam Investments, said the ETF structure works best with indexes, and active managers especially in funds designed for the long haul won't want to make a change.

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