Better Together, Robert Putnam and Lewis Friedstein, 2003

Definition of ‘Social Capital’ in INTRODUCTION

“As used by social scientisits, social capital refers to social networks, norms of reciprocity, mutual assistance, and trustworthiness. The central insight of this approach is that social networks have real value both for the people in those networks-hence, as a career strategy, for bystanders. Criminologists, for instance, have shown that the crime rate in a neighbor hood is lowered when neighbors know one another well, benefiting even residents who are not themselves involved in neighborhood activities.

Just like physicalcapital (tools) and human capital (education), social capita; comes in many different forms -a coffee klatcg, acivic organization, a  bowling league, a labor union, the Ku Klux Klan. As that last example illustrates, social capita; can be put to morally repugnant purposes as well as admirable ones, just as biochemical training can be used to concoct a bioterror weapon or life-saving drug. Social capital is a powerful tool, as our stories will illustrate, but whether it is put to good use or ill is a different issue.”