Social Capital

After reading the text reflecting Robert Putman’s ideas one of the strongest concepts which made an impression on me was that of the description of social capital itself. I have always thought of social capital, as the existence of “resources” within a given society- by resources I mean the number of individuals, the intellectual and physical capital they posses, the level of satisfaction within the society and numerous other factors. However, the ideas portrait in the text took this notion to another level, namely that of the connection between the resources with in the society and no so much the importance of their existence. The other main idea which stood out as I was reflecting on the text was that of the nature of social capital. Social capital, it seems, develops when the necessity for its existence is present. For example, the author points out that the generation of the 1930’s could be characterized with a much better developed social capital then those that followed. The 1930’s were a time of crisis for numerous reasons, and much like the example of “Operation Survival” the necessity for cooperation was not only present but painfully obvious. The result was much stronger interaction between individuals, and hence the development of social capital. The following generations, however, did not face the harsh conditions of their predecessors, and with that the necessity for knowing our neighbor significantly weakened.

As for the Fable about social capital, as most Fables do, did involve some stretches of the imagination. Nevertheless, as the author points out, the merits of its moral are of great importance. Change begins at the grass root level, and I definitely agree with the conclusion that if one is unable to serve his own “nest” then how is one to serve a greater proximity of individuals. The values of social responsibility are clearly made obvious by this story, and despite the simplicity of its tone it does draw the point across quite successfully!