In this webinar Tristan Claridge discusses the several nagging tensions and incongruences associated with the concept of social capital that are typically ignored but are impossible to escape and, it seems, to resolve. Critics are quick to point to these problems but the growing body of literature on social capital seems immune to criticism. Is it useful to frame these issues as “wicked problems”? This session discusses which problems associated with the concept of social capital should be considered “wicked” and how these problems can best be resolved or mitigated.
Tristan Claridge has been researching and applying the concept of social capital to a wide range of contexts for over 20 years. He is a geographer and environmental scientist with a passion for sustainable development and poverty alleviation. He takes an interdisciplinary perspective by combining the lessons of economics, sociology, political science, psychology, urban planning and any other discipline that contributes understanding to the concept. Tristan’s research on social capital has progressed the theoretical understanding of the concept and its implications. While deeply concerned with improving the theory, he has widely applied the concept. In addition to development and poverty alleviation, Tristan has also applied social capital theory to community development, organisational culture, leadership, and the general challenges of modernity – particularly the role of non-economic forms of capital and their transformative effects on governance.
The webinar was held on Wednesday March 31, 2021 as part of the regular webinar and discussion group sessions held by Social Capital Research & Training [ Ссылка ] as part of the Facebook group [ Ссылка ]
00:00 Introduction
10:47 Social capital as contested concept
17:22 1. What is “it”?
20:31 2. Linked to action (or is it?)
22:44 3. Reality and rationality (ontology)
26:21 4. Tangible, Intangible, Transcendental
28:51 5. Positivity paradox
30:57 6. Circularity and tautology
34:12 7. Potentiality and contingency
36:55 8. Universality and fluidity
42:02 9. Explanatory power (or lack of)
47:42 Summary
49:43 Discussion
