what is meant by the term "social capital"?

Question

... as opposed to financial capital?

and does a LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme - surrogate "social" currency) allow us to measure the amount of social capital held in a community. What does turn-over in LETS imply?

Answer 1

In The Forms of Capital (1986) Pierre Bourdieu distinguishes between three forms of capital: economic capital, cultural capital and social capital. He defines social capital as "the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition."

Social capital "refers to the collective value of all 'social networks' and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other," according to Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone and the concept's leading exponent (though not its originator). According to Putnam and his followers, social capital is a key component to building and maintaining democracy. Putnam says that social capital is declining in the United States. This is seen in lower levels of trust in government and lower levels of civic participation. Putnam also says that television and urban sprawl have had a significant role in making America far less connected.

Nan Lin's concept of social capital has a more individualistic approach: "Investment in social relations with expected returns in the marketplace". This may subsume the concepts of some others such as Bourdieu, Coleman, Flap, Putnam and Eriksson as noted in Lin's book Social Capital (2001; Cambridge University Press).

Francis Fukuyama described social capital as the existence of a certain (i.e. specific) set of informal values or norms shared among members of a group that permit cooperation among them.

According to social capitalist Caira Nakasone, the ambiguity over the definition of Social Capital does not occur within the definition of “social” but in the doubt of “capital”. That is in the causal and more over “effective” nature of social networks which inhibits agreement over a concrete, measurable form of the theory.

Another way of examining the concept is to take the two words that comprise that. Social- meaning relating to human society and how society is organized and Capital defined as: economics material wealth in the form of money or property, identifies the meaning as societal wealth.

Studies show that war generates social capital and that social capital can be divided along generational lines. For example the World War II generation has sustained their increased levels of civic engagement and remains the faction most likely to participate in activities such as voting and volunteerism.

Nahpiet and Ghoshal in their examination of the role of social capital in the creation of intellectual capital, suggest that social capital should be considered in terms of three clusters: structural, relational and cognitive. Carlos García Timón describes that the structural dimensions of social capital relate to an individual ability to make weak and strong ties to others within a system. The differences between weak and strong ties are explained by Granovetter (1973). The relational dimension focuses on the character of the connection between individuals. This is best characterized through trust of others and their cooperation and the identification an individual has within a network. Hazleton and Kennan (2000) added a third angle, that of communication. Communication is needed to access and use social capital through exchanging information, identify problems and solutions and manage conflict. According to Boisot (1995) and Boland and Tensaki (1995), meaningful communication requires at least some sharing context between the parties to such exchange.

A problem with the term social capital is its widely differing definitions.

Some political scientists use the term as identical the idea of civil society and trust. To others, social capital has a separate meaning. Differences in the use of the term have radical consequences on society.

Answer 2

Definition Of Social Capital

Answer 3

Would that be like Guanxi?

Using relationships or social networks to get things done.

For example, if I am a person who runs a tollbooth. My friend sells beer at a beer store. I could get free beer in exchange for letting my buddy through the tollbooth without paying. The more social contacts you have the more ability you have to get things done.

Answer 4

Read Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone," he is the founder of social capital theory. Essentially, Putnam argues that the downfall of civic community in America is draining the country of its "social capital"--our ability to accept and relate to our neighbors and our larger community. As the title of his book implies, Putnam notes that more people than ever are bowling in America, but now we all bowl alone instead of in leagues. He uses this fact as the jumping off point to analyze all civic life in America, the devolution of civic groups like the Eagles and the Elks clubs, dwindling church attendance, the death of Rotary in many communities, etc., and how this loss of social capital will ultimately diminish democratic processes in America.