OtherWise

8The Cost of Diversity

In the relatively tight-knit world of political scientists, Robert Putnam probably plays with the biggest ball of yarn. He’s a professor at both Harvard University and Manchester University in the United Kingdom and the former dean of the Kennedy School of Government. He developed a widely used model that applies game theory to resolving international conflicts. And a paper he wrote for a scholarly journal with a circulation of just 1,631 in 1995 caused such a stir that it earned him a spot in the pages of People magazine and an invitation to meet with President Bill Clinton at Camp David. He expanded the original article into a full book—Bowling Alone—that still sells well more than a decade later.

Bowling Alone suggested ...