by David Brooks

About the author: David Brooks is a contributing editor for the Atlantic Monthly, and a regular commentator on National Public Radio, CNN's Late Edition, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

In the early 1990s, while covering the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, I observed a curious phenomenon. The inside of every apartment I visited was tidy and clean. But every building's vestibule, hallways, and stairs were filthy and rancid. The floors looked as if they'd never been mopped; lights were burned out; the air reeked of urine. I started asking people why they didn't get together to clean up the hallways. After all, I'd say, there are four or five families living on your floor. A half hour's shared work and it would be done...