23 February 2009
Measuring Prosperity: What Is Social Capital?
Posted by forex under: Forex; Investment; Money; Personal Finance .
There are many forms of capital. Besides the usual definition of business capital (money), there is physical capital (a car, house, or other useful tool), human capital (your skills and education), and also social capital. According to Wikipedia, this describes the value held within our relationships with other individuals and larger social networks.
One of the books I am currently reading is Simple Prosperity by David Wann (co-author of Affluenza). Inside, there is a nice quote about social capital:
It is inevitable that our society will once again give higher priority to belonging and lower priority to belongings.
Look at the results of a study by the National Science Foundation, which found that one-fourth of all Americans say that they have no one that they can discuss personal problems with. Not one person. This number has doubled since 1985. One in 32 people is either in prison or on parole. If our ultimate goal is to be happy and fulfilled, then this can’t be a good trend.
Sociologist Robert Putnam believes the following are indicators of social capital:
- How many of your neighbor’s first names do you know?
- How often do you attend parades or festivals?
- Do you volunteer at your kid’s school? Or help out senior citizens?
- Do you trust your local police?
- Do you know who your U.S. senators are?
- Do you attend religious services? Or go to the theater?
- Do you sign petitions? Or attend neighborhood meetings?
- Do you think the people running your community care about you?
- Can you make a difference?
- How often do you visit with friends or family?
It has been argued that growing social capital can keep you healthy, make schools more productive, reduce crime, and even raise home prices in a neighborhood. Perhaps the best thing about social capital is that “the more you spend, the more you have”.
Originally by Jonathan from My Money Blog on February 16, 2009, 10:24pm