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).
1 comment:
generally on target here, but as I warned someone else, money is capital, not social capital. we need to keep marx and everyone else (bordieu, granovetter, lin) separate.
our big three:
capital
social capital
knowledge capital
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