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As worthy as all the talk of Building Back Better is, it will require significant effort in civil society to keep society interested and attentive long enough to do so
#thread
#thread
Robert Putnam - he of #socialcapital fame - analysed the similar expressions of societal desire for change post-9/11, which was arguably a similarly chastening, disorienting C21st existential threat as #covid19 will prove to be (if it hasn't already....)
Putnam's research observed how American society developed a very real sense of ‘we’ right after 9/11 (as opposed to 'I')
It could be observed across most demographic groups based on class, ethnicity, language etc
It could be observed across most demographic groups based on class, ethnicity, language etc
The #buildbackbetter mantra post-covid has origins in a similar societal trauma
Ten yrs from now - not just in 10 months - can society become a more ‘we society’?
Will #COVID19 be the big turning point that there's a clamour for it be?
Ten yrs from now - not just in 10 months - can society become a more ‘we society’?
Will #COVID19 be the big turning point that there's a clamour for it be?
Perhaps
But according to Putnam, American society post 9/11 pointed less to focusing on what a 'we society' looks like, and more to needing to keep society motivated, attentive and engaged sufficiently long enough to articulate to do so
But according to Putnam, American society post 9/11 pointed less to focusing on what a 'we society' looks like, and more to needing to keep society motivated, attentive and engaged sufficiently long enough to articulate to do so
Putnam observed that the post 9/11 'bounce' to create a more collective society lasted a mere 6 months
As cataclysmic as 9/11 was its impact on attitudes for societal change dissipated really quickly
As cataclysmic as 9/11 was its impact on attitudes for societal change dissipated really quickly
A concerted effort is required to sustain a belief in communities that society can be changed for the better
This goes beyond mere aspirational consultations that naively ignore the extent to which some interests want to keep things *exactly as they were pre covid*
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This goes beyond mere aspirational consultations that naively ignore the extent to which some interests want to keep things *exactly as they were pre covid*
/end
