Misattribution in “Can We Trust Social Capital”



Misattribution in “Can We Trust Social Capital”

In my 2002 JEL article, "Can We Trust Social Capital" I asserted that Pierre Bourdieu (1986) wrote: "Social capital is an attribute of an individual in a social context.  One can acquire social capital through purposeful actions and can transform social capital into conventional economic gains. The ability to do so, however, depends on the nature of the social obligations, connections, and networks available to you." This quotation is not in the article I cited.  I am grateful to Alfonso Morales for pointing this out to me.  I wish to acknowledge the misattribution and apologize for any confusion caused by my error.  I urge readers to consult Bourdieu's article and decide for themselves whether the quotation accurately reflects Bourdieu's point of view.  (Bourdieu (1984) and Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) are other places to look for Bourdieu's thoughts on social capital.) 

I have not been able to locate the source of the quotation.  I welcome the opportunity to credit the original source. 

My essay argued that confusion about the meaning of the social capital undermined the usefulness of term.  It is ironic that my mistake could add to the confusion. 

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1984. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste.  Translated by Richard Nice.  Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. "Forms of Capital," in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education.John G.Richardson,ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, pp. 241–60.

Bourdieu, Pierre and Loic J. D. Wacquant. 1992. "An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology." Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

  

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