Disadvantages Of Social Capital

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Introduction: Social capital might be regarded as the glue that holds society together such as human relationships, people doing things for each other out of sense of social solidarity, social obligation and community (Putnam, 2000). In this assignment part one will explore the meaning of social capital and the benefits of high social capital. Part two will discuss the three examples to evaluate how social capital can help change the side effects of social-economic disadvantage. Part one: What is social capital? Social capital is defined as ‘the features of social organisation, such as trust, norms, and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions’ (Putnam, 1993, p.167). Social capital often refers …show more content…

Secondly, an inequality thesis that suggested that widening levels of economic inequality has corroded mutual trust and respect between different groups of citizens. Thirdly, a political economy approach that suggested that inequalities in health are essentially down to changes in access to material resources. Therefore, the three perspectives on social capital seem to run similar to the three types of bonding, bridging and linking social capital. Bonding social capital often refers to the ‘horizontal’ ties between associates of a network who see themselves as the same, and can be compared to the concept of social cohesion within particular social grouping. Bridging social capital includes links across different groups in society that do not share the same social identities, and refers to the levels of social solidarity, justice and mutual respect in society as a whole. Whereby, linking social capital is a particular form of bridging social capital that applies to ‘vertical’ interactions across formal, explicit, and authority structures in society or institutionalised power. As Szreter and Woolcock (2004) have underline above all three forms are important for individual’s health and wellbeing. Bonding social capital is important for mandatory social support, and bridging social capital is important for respect and solidarity across the social spectrum. On the other hand, linking social capital is important for the operational mobilisation of political will and institutions (Szreter and Woolcock, 2004) (Poortinga,

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