Community, Not Again!

I remember this 'community question' from ENG 101. It took me forever to nail down a definition that I was willing to stick by (read: felt that I could defend well fairly easily). This time, however, I'm ready. Maybe.

For a community to exist, there must be active communication between members who have a sense of group identity. A community must also have a structure of some kind. Size and location aren't very important. But, communication is key!

If members in a community do not interact in some way (preferably by sharing thoughts and ideas) then defining themselves as a group is impossible. If you never had any form of contact with anybody in this class (with the same going for everyone else) then the class would not be a community because it would be impossible to feel any real bond between yourself and your classmates.

Structure is less a requirement of community and more a result of human nature. Any time humans come together to form groups a heiarchy developes (government, for example).

That about covers the general idea I have of community. I might go into more detail later.

Social Capital

Based on things so far, the best definition of Social Capital (hereafter SC) that I can come up with is that SC is the total amount of assets available to via social connections. I'm including as assets material things (money, any "borrowable" item) as well as non-physical things. Ah, that sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?

A borrowable item that's an example of SC would be a car. If you are in a traffic accident that puts your vehicle out of commission for a few days, a really good friend might lend you a car so you can get to work/school.

An example of a non-physical asset is the support (or backing) of an individual or group. Say you're running for office. Not only do you need lots of money, you also need some good support from the community. If a local hero goes on television and promotes your cause, it will bolster your reputation (good by association).