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of this form of social capital as well. Examples of bridging social capital could include sports teams, networks centered on schools; business associations and unions, and bowling leagues (Putnam's featured example). What these examples have in common is that they establish connections that cross social divisions and promote links to resources external to the group or individual, the diffusion of information between groups, and the broadening of reciprocity.
Putnam's distinction between bonding and bridging social capital was partly in response to criticism that he was too sanguine about the beneficial effects of social networks. Social capital has a dark side. A criminal gang with its strong in-group bonding is, after all, a social network which produces social capital. The effect of such networks on society, however, is hardly beneficial. Social networks tend toward homogeneity (bonding networks) - trust tends to trust like. Attention to the negative side of social capital goes back to Bourdieu's argument that social capital is a mechanism for reproducing inequality. The social capital enjoyed by the power-elite makes access to social networks unequal. Social capital, according to Bourdieu, benefits the wealthy by functioning as an instrument of exclusion. Thus, bonding social capital needs to be balanced by bridging social capital. Francis Fukuyama, reflecting on the problems bonding social capital can pose, argues that there is a "radius of trust" at work in social networking. The wider the radius, i.e. the further from the in-group the network extends, the more benign the social capital will be. Fukuyama is saying, in effect, that bonding social capital, for all its benefits, often needs to be supplemented by bridging social capital.
Social capital has been a subject of interest for sociologists and political scientists studying India as well. Matthew Morris has studied the relationship between social capital and poverty. Widmalm Sten's research has been on social capital and the problem of corruption. Harihar Bhattacharyya's interest is the contribution of social capital to the functioning of government. Sudha Pai, Nandini Sundar, and Niraja Gopal Jayal have looked at social capital and grassroots democracy. Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya has investigated social capital and marginalized groups. Ashok Swain has investigated social capital and protest movements. Part three: Gandhi's legacy of social capital
In light of the foregoing discussion of social capital and the data aggregated by Varshney, I want to offer a reflection on Gandhi's efforts to build civil society in India and his notion of swaraj. Gandhi returned to India in 1915 from South Africa to face a triangle of challenges afflicting the independence movement. Muslims feared rule by the high caste Hindu establishment. On their part, high caste Hindus had no intention of countenancing a return to the time of the Mughal empire. Neither were they eager for the
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| SR No. | 007005 |
| Book Title | World of Philosophy |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave |
| Publisher | Shanti Prakashan |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
| Total Pages | 1002 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 30 MB |