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Definition 2024


social_capital

social capital

English

Noun

social capital (uncountable)

  1. The good will, sympathy, and connections created by social interaction within and between social networks.
    • 1916, L.J. Hanifan, The rural school community center, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 67: 130.
      If [the individual] comes into contact with his neighbor, and they with other neighbors, there will be accumulation of social capital, which may immediately satisfy his social needs and which may bear a social potentiality sufficient to the substantial improvement of living conditions in the whole community.
  2. The value created by social relationships, with expected returns in the marketplace.

See also