Social Capital

Acknowledgements p. vii
Introduction: what is social capital and why does it matter? p. 1
How do networks make things happen? p. 2
Norms and networks in classical social theory p. 6
Interest in social capital p. 8
Aims of the book p. 11
1 From metaphor to concept p. 13
Bourdieu p. 16
Coleman p. 23
Putnam p. 32
What have the social capital classics added? p. 44
Key reading p. 47
2 Networks in use p. 48
Social capital and education p. 49
Connections in the economy p. 55
Benefits for health and well-being p. 63
Crime and deviancy p. 67
Refining the concept - reciprocity and trust p. 69
Towards a differentiated conception p. 72
Key reading p. 78
3 A walk on the dark side p. 79
Social capital and inequality p. 82
The perverse effects of social capital p. 92
Social capital’s dark side p. 99
Key reading p. 100
4 Future tense or present perfect? Social capital in a changing world p. 101
Family and intimate ties p. 104
Active democratic citizenship p. 109
Atomised connections in cyberspace: ships that pass in a byte? p. 119
The end of communism p. 125
Social capital in risk society: flexible friends? p. 128
Key reading p. 131
5 Policy and politics: social capital in the real world p. 132
Should we be wary of developing policies for social capital? p. 135
The case for intervention p. 139
Measuring social capital p. 142
Operationalising policies for social capital p. 146
Can governments create social capital? p. 154
Key reading p. 156
Conclusion p. 157
Key reading p. 167
Resources on the Internet p. 168
References p. 169
Index p. 189