Putnam om diversitet

En av världens mest inflytelserika statsvetare, Robert Putnam, kommer i sin senaste forskning fram till deprimerande men intressanta och kontroversiella resultat, enligt en artikel i Financial Times.

Robert Putnam, som fick enormt genomslag med Bowling Alone, har tidigare påvisat betydelsen av föreningsliv för en levande demokrati. Detta har, inte minst inom socialdemokratin, tagits till intäkt för den svenska folkrörelsens förträfflighet.

Enligt Financial Times har nu Putnam kommit fram till att ju fler etniska grupper som samlas i ett samhälle, desto mer misstro känner invånarna gentemot varandra. Vilket är skadligt för demokratin. Förhoppningsvis kommer socialdemokratin inte att ta detta till intäkt för att kräva stängda gränser.

Harvard study paints bleak picture of ethnic diversity:

The core message of the research was that, "in the presence of diversity, we hunker down", he said. "We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it's not just that we don't trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don't trust people who do look like us."

Prof Putnam found trust was lowest in Los Angeles, "the most diverse human habitation in human history", but his findings also held for rural South Dakota, where "diversity means inviting Swedes to a Norwegians' picnic".

When the data were adjusted for class, income and other factors, they showed that the more people of different races lived in the same community, the greater the loss of trust. "They don't trust the local mayor, they don't trust the local paper, they don't trust other people and they don't trust institutions," said Prof Putnam. "The only thing there's more of is protest marches and TV watching."

Vi får hoppas att nyttan av föreningslivet räcker som motvikt. Och trösta oss med att det ännu finns oändligt med sociala faktorer som inte uppmätts.

(uppsnappat hos The Belmont Club)

Uppdatering:

Dennis Josefsson tipsar via kommentarerna nedan att Putnam tycker att FT-artikeln inte visar hela bilden av hans forskning, och i synnerhet missar att samhällen som klarar integrationen på lång sikt klarar av att stävja misstron, och att diversiteten inte bara är oundviklig utan också normalt positiv för ett samhälle.

Diversity, immigration and social capital. Robert D. Putnam gave a talk on this issue as the Skytte Prize lecture, to be published in Scandinavian Political Studies in early 2007. The talk emphasized three key points: 1) increased diversity and immigration are essential, inevitable and generally strengthens advanced nations; 2) but in the short-term, diversity and immigration challenges community cohesion; and 3) longer-term, successful immigrant societies overcome these challenges by reducing their focus on ethnic and racial differences and building a broader sense of "we". This can be done through popular culture, education, national symbols, or common experiences (like national service).

The 10/8/06 Financial Times had two misleading articles on this research Study paints bleak picture of ethnic diversity and a slightly more balanced Research shows disturbing picture of modern life. By focusing almost exclusively on the 2nd of the 3 points above and painting it in an apocalyptic light, they painted a highly distorted view of our research. [For a thoughtful rejoinder, read Financial Time's editorial on this topic, No Veil on Debate, 10/10/06.]

Jag antar att vi får höra mer om detta när Skytteanska uppsatsen kommer i SPS.