AMERICA: A NATION OF CLUBS
Until recently, American social life has revolved around small groups of people brought together by similar social interests, much like Monty'smany clubs. Some asked members to pay dues, but in many cases-like the Sherlock Holmes club and DeMolay-the fees were modest and served primarily tosupport the operations. Many were entirely free. And many believe they had an important role to play in American society.

"These organizations were important to American democracy because they were democratic in their internal governance," says Peter Levine, aprofessor of political science at Tufts. "They were local, but they were also federated so they brought America together. They were gender and racesegregated as a whole, but they went across class, creating cross-class solidarity."

As Levine points out, while the clubs of the past brought together people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, they were exclusionary in manyother ways. Many clubs were gender segregated based on stereotypes about masculinity and femininity: Men tended to be in business organizations,while women were part of quilting and charity clubs, then later in suffrage groups. And, until the 1960s, clubs tended to be racially segregated. Forinstance, minorities were very literally excluded from business clubs that were historically white, making it impossible for them to create the kindsof networks that would be valuable for career advancement.

Over the last few decades, sociologists and political scientists have found that American clubs of all stripes-from youth service clubs to bowlingleagues-have experienced steep declines in their memberships.

Meanwhile, a new kind of club is rising up in major cities. These are stylishly designed, members-only spaces that often come with a high pricetag, thereby limiting membership to the wealthy and privileged.

In other words, there are fewer clubs that bring together people of different socioeconomic backgrounds across the country and a growing numberthat are designed for a class of digitally native, urban professionals. All of this is changing the social landscape of the United States. Whataccounts for the sharp decline in traditional clubs and organizations? How will this new breed of elite club change American society? And perhapsmost importantly, is there a way to bring back free, or inexpensive, clubs that will allow more Americans to participate in communities and engagecivically?

BRINGING BACK THE COMMUNITY CLUB
Many political scientists say that the withering of America's clubs and associations makes the country worse off. It means that fewer people areembedded in a community, which is known to help people feel happier and even live longer. But it also makes our nation worse off because peoplebecome increasingly siloed and removed from those who are unlike them. While this new breed of social club is actively trying to be inclusive when itcomes to race, gender, and sexual orientation, they are still segregating people by social class.

Theda Skocpol, the Harvard political scientist, believes that to create a better society we need to break down some of these class lines. "Oneanswer to improving the nation's civic life will turn out, I believe, to lie in encouraging privileged Americans to rejoin-or recreate-the groupsettings in which they have a daily chance to work with a broad cross-section of fellow citizens to address the nation's concerns," she writes inthe Brookings Review.

To read the complete article, see:
Social clubs died out in America. Now,venture capital is bringing them back (https://www.fastcompany.com/90350407/the-death-and-unlikely-rebirth-of-the-american-social-club)