ABSTRACT
Face-to-face contact is important, and political life would benefit if political actors and commentators paid more attention to this fact. We know that people are more likely to participate in politics when they are asked (recruited or mobilized). Thanks to field experiments, we know that asking via robo-call or email does little. In fact, the closer the request gets to a personalized request from a real human being, the more effective it is, and even more so if the human being is known. Why this is so is less clear, but theory suggests that a human desire for sociability and instinct for identity may drive the effect. The social capital literature tells us that face-to-face contact builds the network of norms and trust that constitute high social capital. Known opinion leaders help others process information. Political actors who understand the importance of face-to-face interaction, and do the best job of approximating (or even creating) it, will do well. Commentators will better understand political dynamics if they keep its importance in mind.
