social capital

Communitarianism

The central premise within communitarian conceptions of social order is that communities and societies should limit selfish individualism

concerned with the deterioration of private and public morality , the decline of the family , high crime rates , and the swelling of corruption in government

Classical social democracy

1:Collectivisim,
2:Confined role for markets:the mixed or social economy
3:Full employment, 4:Strong egalitarianism

Neoliberalism/Neoconservatism
1:Minimal government
2:Autonomous civil society
3:Market fundamentalism

4: Moral authoritarianism plus strong economic individualism

Civic Engagement

Putnam’s central thesis is that a well functioning regional economy together with a high level of political integration are the result of that region’s capacity to successfully amass social capital

the productive activity of social capital is manifest in its capacity to “facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit

Ireland a Vision for Change (2006) accepts that factors associated with inadequate social capital are found to have an independent negative effect on mental health-such factors include:

Putnam’s Link -Social Capital and Health

Social networks can help to secure tangible material assistance and thereby reduce stress
Social networks can reinforce health norms

Durkheim
Mechanical Solidarity – social cohesion built on resemblance and similarity

Organic Solidarity –social cohesion built on interdependance

Coleman Social capital exists in the structure of relations between individuals and is thus largely intangible
Coleman –Four Important Forms of Social Capital

3: Norms and effective sanctions (eg. The establishment of community values and shared standards of behaviour)

4: Authority relations (eg.skilful leadership that informs others’ actions

• Bridging
•Formed from the connections between people who have less in common , but may have an overlapping interest

• Linking
•Derived from the links between people or organisations beyond peer boundaries ,cutting across status and similarity and enabling people to exert influence and reach resources outside their normal circles.

• Too much bonding and too little bridging can stifle and restrict personal initiative and innovation

Too much bridging and too little bonding can leave individuals personally vulnerable

Dark side of social capital
-Inner city gangs represent forms of social capital where the benefits of solidarity are harmful to bystanders
-hate groups or inbred bureaucracies “ benefit from access to reserves of social capital just as much as anyone.

Civil society as associational life

Civil society is where people come together voluntarily for the benefit of themselves, others, for actions that lie beyond either the government or for-private-profit business

At its best, civil society activity enhances people’s lives, drawing on a range of human motivations which include compassion, altruism and our instincts for reciprocity

Civil society as a ‘good’ society
civil society is sometimes used as a shorthand for the type of society we want to live in
Commission’s view of a ‘good’ society include a commitment to social justice

Civil society as the arenas for public deliberation
the places where people and organisations discuss common interests, develop solutions to society’s most pressing problems and try to reconcile differences peacefully

The activity of civil society is motivated by hopes for society as a whole, as well as by a multitude of everyday concerns; and it achieves its momentum in part by creating spaces in which people are free to argue, imagine and decide.