ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Robert Putnam's understanding of sense of society and social relationships help explain the priority of communication professionals: to create and maintain organizational social capital. Putnam argues that social capital is closely related to "civic virtue", enabling people to trust, collaborate, socialize, establish communities and live together in harmony. There are two ingredients hence for social capital: repeated social contact and common goals. Putnam's theory is rather normative, and he himself has been called naive and illusionary to propose that re-establishing community would solve large societal problems. Putnam's writings spell out that individualism has overtaken communitarianism, social capital is diminishing, society is polarized, inequality is growing and a sense of community is fading. Putnam's theories are important, as they are able to explain the deeper meanings of relationships for not only individuals and organizations, but also society at large.
