On Social Capital

In the article entitled “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital” Robert Putnam presents the term of social capital, which according to him “refers to features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam 1995). If I understand correct, this term entails a specific interpersonal interaction or behavior type which is beneficial for the society as a whole and it sounds like this is quite prevalent process in contemporary society. Moreover, Putnam (1995) claims that for a number of reasons living in a community which has a substantial stock of social capital is easier. One of the reasons behind it mentioned in the article is that social capital involves building up social trust, which is unquestionably an important ‘ingredient’ of social capital.

At any rate, although the title suggests that the article is about the decline of social capital in the US, I have to admit I was somewhat surprised to hear it, as its concept seems good – something the society can benefit from. The author points out various possible reasons behind its decline, however I think two of them are the most valid.

First of all, Putnam (1995) suggests a strong correlation between social trust and civic engagement. I agree with this notion – in my opinion social trust plays a very important role in building up social capital as it is simply easier to interact with other members of society if mutual trust is present. However, he also says that “Americans are also less trusting” and that “the proportion of Americans saying that most people can be trusted fell by more than a third between 1960, when 58 percent chose that alternative, and 1993, when only 37 percent did” (Putnam 1995). In this context, it is quite understandable that since social trust is decreasing within the American society, it is in effect more difficult to successfully build up social capital.

Second of all, the other important explanation the author gives is the technological transformation of leisure. Here, the author’s main ‘culprit’ seems to be television, which is deemed responsible for changing what people do for leisure. However, I believe that it is the technological development in general that is to blame. TV, cell phones, computers, internet – all those things make people stay at home rather than go out and socialize with others. In that sense, it is hard to build up social trust in a society if the majority of people prefer to sit at home in front of TV or computer.

It is indeed troubling that social capital in the US is declining as it appears to be an important part of civil society – the thing that unites people and improves the economic development.

References:

Putnam, R. (1995) Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital. An Interview with Robert Putnam.