From Bowling Alone to Karate Together (USA to Asia): Preliminary Claims and Findings

Abstract

From Egypt to South Korea, traditional institutions and sources of authority are being challenged as never before. To survive and prosper, organizations and institutions adapt to the changing values and needs of people in a modern, globalizing world. This essay discusses how some organizations adapt traditional, hierarchical authority to the challenges of a dynamic, diversifying society. It presents three claims. First, modernizing, liberalizing societies generate a tendency to separation and indifference. Second, “authoritative” organizations that stress obedience to a set of beliefs and practices partly counter these atomizing tendencies and attract many, diverse persons. Third, the formation of diverse, authoritative communities is more likely among newcomers or outsiders less attached to historic, societal divides. I illustrate this with some preliminary findings and observations, mostly in USA but also in South Korea. ¹

Citation

Yi, J.E. (2014), "From Bowling Alone to Karate Together (USA to Asia): Preliminary Claims and Findings", Can Tocqueville Karaoke? Global Contrasts of Citizen Participation, the Arts and Development (Research in Urban Policy, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-89. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-352020140000011018