Thank you for writing your piece on Freedom. I think the language you use is provocative, but you raise
an important point. I agree that our society has become more acquisitive, more materialistic. However, I
think the reason that has happened isn't really about capitalism, and I think alternative mantras are very
dangerous.

You have made an interesting case for how our society has developed into the materialistic mess you perceive.
What I think is missing from this analysis is the feminist and sexual revolutions, which I believe are driving a lot of what you are worried about, but also a lot of what is better about society today from some
mythical better, more communitarian past. The dramatic changes in the role of women, and how men and women
(and of course men/men and women/women) relate to each other have changed the structure of families and
of society dramatically. There is a library out there to address these issues, but I believe that part
of the decline in community spirit has to do with the radical change in women's roles, the decline of the
nuclear family, and the decline of religious community--all driven in part by these irreversible
revolutions. Can we really put this genie back in the bottle? I don't think so. I don't think we should
want to. The reality is, for economic and a host of other reasons, women are going to work, and so
the volunteer, religiously based workforce that created so much of the local community support we all crave
is now engaged in other activities. Bob Puttnam talks about this, and about the insidious role of televison
and computers, in disengaging social spirit. I don't think all these issues can be put down to capitalism.

Second, although the urge to shop certainly isn't inspiring, I think there are worse motivators. Not to be
glib, but I would rather that shopping was the opiate of the masses rather than religion. We can see from ceenturies of experience what happens when religion, or another utopian vision, becomes the driving force in a society. That leads to repression and violence. Although there are muggings for IPODs, I venture to say that a materialistic society is just too busy and too self-absorbed to go on a crusade. And personally, I think that is no bad thing.

All the best,

Jennifer

when you say 'Bob' Puttnam, do you mean Robert Puttnam of Harvard who wrote 'Bowling Alone'?