Capital social: Debates y reflexiones en torno a un concepto polémico

Abstract

Developed in the advanced capitalist countries, the concept of social capital, also known as social media weight-acquired Latin American social sciences in the nineties. International agencies like the World Bank and the Inter played a role in the interest given to this concept (Hintze 2004). The boom that took this concept is that it focused attention on the positive consequences of sociability while aside its less attractive features. Thus, much research on social capital is not sufficiently considered the costs of social exchange and power relations in which the networks are inserted. The aim of this paper to map out and problematize the different paradigms that have addressed this concept, emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses. To what do um bibliographical survey of several authors who have focused on investigating this concept unraveling the different conceptions of social capital that correspond to certain perspectives on the social order. Since the paradigm supported by international organizations, the power relations are excluded as an explanation of social practices. I mean, look corseted in a social reality that focuses on order and the smooth functioning of individuals and groups, are totally absent analytical tools capable of accounting for the sources of power and conflict. In contrast, the notion of social capital we used was based on the theoretical perspective bourdieusiana. Theoretical matrix that allows us to contemplate the power relations and conflict constitutive of society. Thus, the concept of sustained capital from the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu is a fundamental tool overcomes other theoretical perspectives.