Join or Die

Discussion with the film’s editor Chad Ervin, Montpelier Rotary Club President Marc Gwinn, and Knitting Guild Secretary Judy Bond following the screening.

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? Robert Putnam, political scientist and author of Bowling Alone, has been asking this question for decades. The answer he’s found, through initial research in Italy and then later in the United States, isn’t education or wealth or urbanization or political polarization but rather civic and social engagement. In other words, clubs. Join or Die documents Putnam’s work and, through data and trips inside various organizations, explains the link between high functioning governments and local choirs, sports leagues, labor unions, and parent-teacher associations. The film is a study, a tribute and, perhaps above all else, a rallying cry; as Americans have decreased their participation in clubs since the 60s, so too has our democracy’s efficacy plummeted.