Social Capital Theory

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1.Introduction The concepts of the human, social, and financial capital exist since 1960. The emergence of the concept of the social capital could be seen as a logical development of the concept of the financial capital. Francis Fukuyama mentioned that it is impossible to avoid any social interaction in the financial capital. (Trust p.19) And that is probably the reason why at the end of the 20th the theory of the social capital became one of the most popular in social and economic sciences. The term "social capital" has gained the greatest popularity in the academic discourse thanks to James S. Coleman's works (Coleman, 2001) and Robert Putnam (Putnam, 1996). Baruch Spinoza once said that “men do derive from social life much more convenience…show more content…
Second, social capital greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly. Where people are trusting and trustworthy … everyday business and social transactions are less costly. A third way is which social capital improves our lot is by widening our awareness of the many ways in which our fates are linked… When people lack connection to others, they are unable to test the veracity of their own views, whether in the give or take of casual conversation or in more formal deliberation. Without such an opportunity, people are more likely to be swayed by their worse impulses…show more content…
In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous difference to our lives” (289). Although social capital does not refer to the materialistic form of capital as it was mentioned in the introduction, there are several characteristics which refer to the very notion of a social capital, to its capital liability. First, as well as other types of the capital, the social capital is a long-term contribution in which it is possible to invest resources, for the purpose of obtaining a benefit in the future (Bourdieu, 1985; Coleman 1988; Lin, 1999; Adler and Kwon, 2002). Nevertheless, compared to the material or financial capital, the contribution to the social capital is riskier and is characterized by the uncertain term of return as the obligations based on the relationship are not protected by the legislation, and there is a risk of their violation (Bourdieu, 1977). Secondly, one particular feature of the social capital which equates it to other forms of capital is changeability/convertibility in other resources (Bourdieu, 1985) and multifunctionality (Coleman, 1988). For example, the advantages got on the social network of the relations can be used in economic targets.
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