Bowling Together by Bowling Alone, Essay Example

Social capital is the network of links among individuals who work in a specific society that enable that community to work efficiently. It entails interpersonal interactions, a collective sense of belonging, a mutual understanding, communal norms, collective values, trustworthiness, collaboration, and reciprocity for social groups to work well. The worth of tangible (e.g., public areas, personal belongings) and intangible (e.g., performers, social resources, individuals) resources and the consequence that these interactions have on the available resources in each interaction and on larger groups are measured by social capital. It is commonly thought of as a type of capital that creates social infrastructure for the common good. Social capital was used to explain increased group performance, the emergence of entrepreneurial enterprises, more outstanding managerial achievement, better logistics relationships, the value received from strategic partnerships, and the development of communities. This essay will analyze social capital and its benefits and how negative social capital contributes to extremism.

Social capital enables individuals to collaborate effectively to accomplish a common goal or purpose. Trust and shared identity, conventions, values, and reciprocal relationships allow a community or entity, such as a firm or charity, to function as a whole. Social capital serves the community by fostering social connections (Pitas, Nicholas, and Ehmer 943). As a result, the social sciences are saturated with research on how social capital functions or fails to work. Although the phrase “social capital” was coined later, the idea that social interactions can lead to positive results for a person or a group has been studied for a long time. It was a term that was often used to represent civic and social accountability or how people of a society work together to live in harmony and harmony. The phrase identifies the interactions that lead to a company’s success. It is regarded as valuable as either financial or human capital. From a business perspective, networking and the availability of the internet are illustrations of how social power functions.

Social capital is significant because it symbolizes the benefits of sociability in terms of productivity. This is because human status refers to the shared values, conventions, trust, and sense of belonging that allow people to interact. Without social capital, our political system, institutions, economy, and society would not exist. It makes it possible for modern economies to run smoothly.  Most individuals value social capital because it is a power source and authority that enables them to ‘get through’ and ‘go ahead.’ Individuals, communities, and society all benefit from social capital. Social status has been regarded as a “lubricant” that aids in completing tasks. It enables people to collaborate and reap the benefits of social ties (Borgonovi, Francesca, and Andrieu. 113501). Modern economies rely on social capital to function effectively. Without social capital, our society and political system would not exist. The intrinsic social and cultural integrity is referred to as social capital. As a result, social status has been dubbed “glue.”

Individuals benefit from social capital because it is a power source and authority that allows them to ‘get by’ and ‘go ahead.’ The phrase “it is not only what you understand, but then who you know” refers to social capital’s significant benefits and relevance. Social capital is critical to groups and organizations’ efficiency and even survival (Rodgers, Justin, et al. 112360). Social capital empowers people to collaborate and innovate by working together. Any organization that ignores the value of the social investment is skipping out on a chance to progress while also risking inefficiency and danger. Social capital is also vital for society since it allows societal institutions to function and maintain cohesion. It makes it easier for different parties and organizations to work together. It helps people be more positive in their interactions with one another, which has various benefits ranging from decreased crime and corruption to increased usefulness and cooperation.

Lack of social capital or individuals with negative social capital is more prone to extremism than people with positive or stable social money. For example, people with negative social capital may lead impoverished lives, or their business may not be performing well because they do not have people they can request for emotional, social, or economic support. Humans are unable to collaborate without social capital (Villalonga-Olives, Ester, and Kawachi 120). This is because human status refers to the shared values, conventions, trust, and sense of belonging that allow people to interact. Without social capital, our society and political system would not exist. Negative externalities can be caused by the same properties of social support that permit good, productive outcomes. Social capital can deteriorate rather than improve economic performance, operate as a hindrance to social integration and mobility, divide rather than unite communities or societies, and facilitate rather than reduce crime, educational, academic failure, and health-damaging conduct.

Individuals with negative social capital do not have a sense of belonging, trust, norms, or shared values that enhance social exchange. As a result, they challenge balancing their political, institutional, and economic status. Individuals who have negative social capital or do not have social capital make slow progress in organizational performance, innovation, career success, business performance, public health, educational attainment, and regional development (Shiell, Alan, Hawe, and Kavanagh 111930). This is because they lack people to challenge, motivate, and encourage them to obtain particular goals. On the other hand, individuals with similar social capital inspire each other to take necessary growth and development goals because they are determined to get to similar destinations. As a result, individuals in positive social capital make faster growth and development steps in their lives because they keep them in check and push them towards making positive growth milestones. More often than not, people around us help us figure out things by seeing things from a different perspective than us. As a result, individuals without social capital do not have people to keep them in check. Hence, it is easy for them to delay their development journey because it is hard for them to tell how far they have come, their progress, and the remaining journey before they achieve their goals.

The global Covid-19 pandemic added to the issue of negative social capital through the closure of boundaries and isolation. One of the containment strategies to lower the spread of the pandemic was social distancing, where the government required the citizens to avoid social interactions or going to public places. As a result, people spend more time at home because they cannot walk outside their houses. Individuals with negative social capital or without social capital spent the time alone because they did not have people to check after them (King, Barbara, et al. 127). For example, individuals who did not have friends who checked on them often were lonely. Typically, when individuals have the freedom to walk outside the houses and interact with colleagues, churchmates, or clients, they do not understand the importance of social capital because they have people they can talk with, even if it is about business. However, with the pandemic, most companies were closed, and hence people had few or no business issues to discuss. As a result, people without social capital did not have people to communicate with. This resulted in increased mental health complications because they did not have someone to share their frustrations.

Furthermore, the global Covid-19 pandemic added to the issue of negative social capital by limiting people’s interaction. Most people create social capital or constructive friends at work, social gatherings, or even at church. However, with the limitations of social interactions, including the closure of the church and public entertainment areas, people would not interact, and hence it was challenging to establish social capital (King, Barbara, et al. 128). As a result, most people dealt with negative social capital during the pandemic because they could not make friends. In addition, the negative social capital impacted people’s mental wellness because they did not have someone to share with or motivate them about their failed business, challenges in marriage, or lost jobs. As a result, the global pandemic accelerated negative social capital by limiting people’s interactions, thus limiting the development or creation of positive social interactions.

In summary, social capital enables individuals to collaborate effectively to obtain a similar goal or purpose. Trust and shared identity, conventions, values, and reciprocal relationships allow a community or institution, such as a firm or charity, to function as a whole. So said, social capital serves the community by fostering social connections. Social connection is essential because it is natural networking. It develops stronger teams, enhances reciprocity, and establishes people as leaders because they offer resources and advice to other people without expecting benefits. Instead, it helps develop social capital. Owing to the benefits of positive social capital, negative social capital exposes people to extremism that may influence their social, economic, and political life because they do not have people who are offering them resources or advice to handle their current situation or challenges. The global pandemic increased the issue of negative social capital by limiting people’s interaction and consequently ability to create beneficial friends who can make a positive social capital.

Works Cited

Borgonovi, Francesca, and Elodie Andrieu. “Bowling together by bowling alone: Social capital and Covid-19.” Social science & medicine 265 (2020): 113501.

King, Barbara, et al. “Navigating shades of social capital and trust to leverage opportunities for rural innovation.” Journal of Rural Studies 68 (2019): 123-134.

Pitas, Nicholas, and Colin Ehmer. “Social Capital in the Response to COVID-19.” American Journal of Health Promotion 34.8 (2020): 942-944.

Rodgers, Justin, et al. “Social capital and physical health: An updated review of the literature for 2007–2018.” Social Science & Medicine 236 (2019): 112360.

Shiell, Alan, Penelope Hawe, and Shane Kavanagh. “Evidence suggests a need to rethink social capital and social capital interventions.” Social science & medicine 257 (2020): 111930.

Villalonga-Olives, Ester, and Ichiro Kawachi. “The dark side of social capital: A systematic review of the negative health effects of social capital.” Social science & medicine 194 (2017): 105-127.