Acton Line

Social capital – the capacity of people to cooperate towards common aims – is an indispensable element of a free and prosperous society yet many studies demonstrate that it has been steadily eroded in recent decades. Social pathologies such as the breakdown of the family, addiction, and deaths of despair are strongly correlated with weakening social ties and norms. The decline in social capital has had devastating real world consequences. In this episode, Acton’s Dan Hugger talks with Maryann and Barry Keating, authors of the new book Rebuilding Social Capital, about the idea of social capital, its erosion, how economics and Catholic Social Teaching help to clarify the concept, and what their new research suggests is the path forward to rebuilding social capital. Rebuilding Social Capital at Acton Book Shop - Maryann & Barry Keating Excerpt from Rebuilding Social Capital - Maryann & Barry Keating Centesimus annus   Gaudium et Spes   Mater et Magistra ‘Values of Americans: A Study of Ethics and Character, Harr