Robert D. Putnam

American political scientist — Harvard — author of Bowling Alone and Making Democracy Work — who created the social capital concept and documented its decline in America — the most influential political scientist of the last 30 years.

Creates the social capital decline argument — Bowling Alone's documentation (that Americans participate in civic organizations, vote, trust their neighbors, and join bowling leagues less than they did 50 years ago) is the most cited evidence for the erosion of social cohesion and the most influential contribution to understanding the relationship between civic engagement and democracy.