My Social Capital and What Affects It

Social Capital is a fairly broad term that can be looked at in many different ways and also be defined in many different ways. According to “Social Capital: The Missing Link”, the definitions of social capital have evolved and changed throughout time. Also, it has become recognized that social capital is the missing link with regards to fully determining the process of economic growth. I guess until recently, economic growth was thought to have only consisted of natural capital, physical or produced capital and human capital. However, now that I think more about it, social capital does have a large influence on economic growth. Some of the examples in class revolving around economic growth can further show this.

Generally in society, there has been a decline in social capital. The commitment to voluntary organizations is on the decline and people are not as involved in this as they were in the earlier 19th century. Generally, it has been shown that states having high social capital generally have a more productive and prosperous society and economy. This can be correlated by how educational performance is higher in states that have a higher social capital. Also areas such as poverty and crime are generally less in areas of higher social capital. But why is this?

Social capital can take place in such forms as bonding, bridging and vertical types. The bonding between families and friends within a community gives safety and security. People are in higher spirits when they share a bond with others and when this is present, more can be accomplished. By bridging the connections between networks in high social capital areas, change will readily occur and happen at a faster rate. The drive to accomplish tasks is there with a high social capital. By having these vital connections, the benefits of teamwork within the community increase, thus resulting in greater productivity which drives economic growth.

Now that I have gone completely off of topic, I will now get into the real deal for this blog post, which is my social capital and what affects it. My social capital is pretty basic at this point in my life. Work has been put on the backburner as well as any organizational networks such as being part of a sports team. Basically, my social capital consists of family, friends and school. All of these are connected and can be dependent on one another. In one sense, these networks can be negatively affected from one another. One example is the amount of time spent on school which is time taken away from the other important parts of my social capital. However, this can also be positive due to the fact that friends and family can be there for support and a shoulder to lean on when times get tough. This crossing over of networks provides a stability in a sense. When one part of my social capital becomes stressful, the others are there for support and backup. My social capital can also be affected on a much larger scale due to things such as the economy, government, the world around me and such communication networking tools such as the internet. These are networks that I am also a part of and can influence me by what happens to them and if changes are made within them. I feel that social capital has a large amount of influence on whether or not a society can be sustainable. The general ideal on this is the higher amount of social capital, the more positive relationships exist within a community network. By this occurring, a more positive outlook on things can lead to further development within a community in the form of collective action. This can be directly related to the sustainability of a community or on a much larger scale, a society.