Social Capital: Why We Need It and How We Can Create More of It

These three character -forming institutions, families, churches, and schools have left a void that may put undue burdens on public policy.

Fund and Encourage Local Leadership and Initiative

the volunteer rate and the share of adults who contribute to charity are among the strongest correlates of social capital at the state level

Those relationships can have intrinsic value for the individual members, creating a sense of belonging or being connected to others. But it can also have value fo r the larger society for three reasons: first, because one can draw on it as a resource for accomplishing some objective , such as partnering with other parents to improve the local schoo... See more

Findings about the negative effects of growing diversity on trust and on social capital need not hold for the longer -run. T he key to a better future is, as Putnam argues, the redefinition of social identities. “Identity itself is socially constructed and c an be socially de -constructed and re -constructed.