How well you do in life shouldn't depend on how well your parents did.

Social capital may turn out to be a prerequisite for, rather than a consequence of, effective computer-mediated communication.

Most Americans watch Friends rather than having friends.

Young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historic rate.

None of the people watching 'Big Brother' will bring you chicken soup if you get sick.

Unequal Democracy is the sort of book to which every political scientist should aspire--it is methodologically rigorous, conceptually serious, and above all, it addresses urgent concerns of our fellow citizens. As Bartels shows, much of what we think we know about the politics of economic inequality is dead wrong. Bartels's perplexing and often unexpected discoveries should help refocus the gathering public debate about inequality and what to do about it.

What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.