What is Coleman’s Social Capital the Name of? A Critique of a Not Very Social Capital

TY - JOUR

T1 - What is Coleman’s Social Capital the Name of? A Critique of a Not Very Social Capital

AU - Tlili, Anwar

AU - Obsiye, Mohamed

PY - 2013/3

Y1 - 2013/3

N2 - Coleman’s concept of social capital has acquired an eminent place within various regions of the current sociological imagination as well as policy discourses. Yet, it is, as this paper argues, founded on some very questionable premises, and made up of components that do not hang together in a coherent and productive way and that, more importantly, work to displace and obscure structures of power, inequality and discrimination. This paper starts by attempting a reconstruction and assessment of the problem – theoretical and empirical – that Coleman’s social capital sought to respond to. Then we critically examines the sociological thrust of social capital to show how Coleman’s formulation of the concept is caught up in some irreconcilable tensions, some conceptual blurriness and silences around structures of inequality and the ways in which these structures casually mediate many aspects of what Coleman gathers under the name of social capital. We also argue that social capital betrays some idyllic vision of a harmonious, organically integrated communal life, and seeks to re-inscribe a mix of communitarian, culturalist and familial axioms within a normative vision for suburban milieus where social capital features as a marker of territory. On the other hand, it will be argued that the concept of social capital is stuck in a number of logical problems, to do mainly with its causality and normativity, which carries some significant ideological implications that will be unpacked.

AB - Coleman’s concept of social capital has acquired an eminent place within various regions of the current sociological imagination as well as policy discourses. Yet, it is, as this paper argues, founded on some very questionable premises, and made up of components that do not hang together in a coherent and productive way and that, more importantly, work to displace and obscure structures of power, inequality and discrimination. This paper starts by attempting a reconstruction and assessment of the problem – theoretical and empirical – that Coleman’s social capital sought to respond to. Then we critically examines the sociological thrust of social capital to show how Coleman’s formulation of the concept is caught up in some irreconcilable tensions, some conceptual blurriness and silences around structures of inequality and the ways in which these structures casually mediate many aspects of what Coleman gathers under the name of social capital. We also argue that social capital betrays some idyllic vision of a harmonious, organically integrated communal life, and seeks to re-inscribe a mix of communitarian, culturalist and familial axioms within a normative vision for suburban milieus where social capital features as a marker of territory. On the other hand, it will be argued that the concept of social capital is stuck in a number of logical problems, to do mainly with its causality and normativity, which carries some significant ideological implications that will be unpacked.

KW - Social Capital, Coleman, Relations, Inequality, Power, Normativity, Functionalism, Suburban Territory

U2 - 10.1177/0896920513479615

DO - 10.1177/0896920513479615

M3 - Article

SN - 0896-9205

VL - 39

SP - 1

EP - 24

JO - Critical Sociology

JF - Critical Sociology

IS - 2

ER -