SOCC58H3 Lecture : Social Capital Lecture March 23
Document Summary
The pay-offs that arise from our relationships: reliance on networks and contacts can produce significant economic returns for individuals and communities. At the community level: cooperation in order to achieve a common goal: putnam"s problem. Bowling alone is a bad metaphor since no one actually bowls alone what putnam meant is that people don"t engage in league bowling anymore (they only bowl with close intimate like family members). League bowling is a type of associational activity that brings relative strangers together on a routine and frequent basis. As such, it helps to build and make possible a wider set of networks and values that foster general reciprocity and trust, and in turn helps bring about mutual collaboration. Putnam says we currently have a declining stock of social capital. Over the last half century or so: sign fewer petitions belong to fewer organizations that meet (public meetings and town halls) know our neighbors less (gated communities)
