Social Capital in the United States: What is Social capital? How can Social Capital be increased?

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Social Capital in the United States
1 What is Social capital?
Social capital refers to the networks, trusts and norms of social life that enable people to work more effectively together in pursuit of common objectives. Social capital is the link between the underneath social cleavages and the important community sectors through the links of networks, trusts and norms. Cooperation among people enhances services to interest social more groups; hence it is recommendable (Putnam, 664). A social capital may be formed between informal and illegal groups like the Michigan militia gangs, since they operate in a network with norms that enable for more effective cooperation among its members, albeit at the wider community’s detriment. In essence, social capital means social connections in relation to norms and trust for the attendants. The social capital beneficiaries from the norms, networks and trust are empirically determined other than by definition. Social capital has multiple effects such as serving a civic purpose in political participation, which relates people to political institutions. It is important to note the difference between political participation and social capital in the sense, that taking part in a political process does not necessarily constitute creating a social capital.
2 How can Social Capital be increased?
Social capital can be increased by enhancing social interactions. For instance, taking part in a voting process or sending a check to a government institution does not create a social capital,whereas sharing a meal with a friend in a restaurant embodies a social capital. Political movements right from the grassroots and other civic engagement groups enhance the creation of social capital. The social capital theory asserts that trust among people develop, as they continue to interact more and more with one another while the lesser interaction among people leads to loss of trust between them. Research findings reveal a strong correlation between civic engagement and social trust notwithstanding age, education, race, income controls and...