According to Coleman, why is the role of social capital an important resource that enables individuals to realize their interests.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While it is in a sense something an individual or an organization possesses, social capital “inheres in the structure of relations between actors and among actors” (Coleman 1988:S98), particularly those relations that are part of a “closed” social network in which most individuals either directly or indirectly know one another. Such a network creates incentives to comply with group norms and to honour one’s obligations to other members of the network. Conversely, open networks make it easier to free-ride and encourage non-compliance with the group’s norms. As a result, trust is less likely to develop between individuals which in turn diminishes the types and amounts of social capital that would otherwise circulate among the networks’ members. Social capital is thus a product of social relations and not something that an individual or organization alone can develop or use at its own discretion. While social capital comes in many forms, Coleman here emphasizes how authority, trustworthiness (and the obligations and expectations that are tied to trust), information channels, and social norms are types of resources or capital that allow individuals to achieve goals that are otherwise unattainable. For instance, when you do a favor for a friend or colleague, it establishes an obligation on his or her part to repay the favor in order to uphold norms of trustworthiness and maintain the relationship. Much like a “credit slip,” you can redeem the obligation owed in order to accomplish a task that might otherwise be impossible or too costly to undertake.