Generally, people associate development with aspects such as economic capital, technological capacity, available manpower, management skills of the leaders, and so on. But people often forget the importance of social capital, which actually serves as the breeding ground for all those aforementioned aspects.
Social capital is a multidimensional concept with many determinants. So there is no consensus among development scholars regarding its functioning.
There are two schools of thoughts interpreting the functioning of social capital, one being led by Scholar Robert D Putnam who advocates that a well functioning economic system and a high level of political integration can only be achieved after the successful accumulation of social capital. He regards social capital as a basic ingredient of development but not a product.
The other school of thought is led by the famous French scholar Pierre Bourdieu who advocates social capital being the final product, not the actual ingredient. He says that people form social relations so that they can increase their ability to advance their interests. He regards social capital as a net designed by people on the top of social hierarchies to hold on to their position through a range of subtle techniques which cumulatively form an iron grip.
There are many anecdotes and researches that support both Bourdeau and Putnam, so it is really difficult to say who is right.
For an instance, the Ku Klux Klan, the racist group of white Americans that was formed in the late 1800s and opposed to freeing the slaves after American Civil War. This depicts the negative use of social capital.
Similarly, in India, a group of women vigilantes formed the Goolabi Gang so as to combat the atrocities happening against women. This, in contrast, depicts the positive use of social capital.
Hence, the nature of social capital is determined by the way it is used and the purpose it serves.
There are various ways to accumulate social capital, like forming associations, committees etc. It is easy to do so when people have mutual goals or interests, but quite difficult when people from different avenues of life or motives are involved. During such instances, we have to stray away from our usual horizon and explore new models and techniques for the creation of social capital.
For instance, sports, owing to its transformative power, can be one of the ways which can be used to generate social capital when two diverse groups are involved.
The Kanti Cultural Center – an active youth club of Maharajgunj – organizes an annual football match between married and unmarried people residing in the Maharajgunj area. This match brings together older and younger generations, to enjoy the match, joke around, and discuss social and personal issues.
It also helps to mend broken relations: Two neighbors who were not in talking terms after a dispute over garbage disposal were in the same team and both were pitted in as defenders. As they had to constantly coordinate with each other during the match, it ultimately helped them reconcile.
Similarly, I attended the Youth Leadership Conference organized by UNOSDP where I had an opportunity to interact with young sportspersons from 19 countries. During informal interaction sessions, various instances of how sports can be used to enhance the social capital of a society to bring about the overall development were discussed.
Sports can be used as an agent to unite people and build a country’s image. Rwanda did the same to bridge the gap between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups who were involved in a genocide that resulted in the killing of millions of people in the early 1990s. After the end of genocide, there were many other sectors that required investments for revival, but the government dared to invest in sports, especially football.
Rwanda organized various football tournaments. As the football team consisted of both Hutus and Tutsi, people forgot their ethnic identity and started cheering for Rwanda as a whole. It eventually brought cohesion among the Rwandan people.
But as discussed earlier, social capital can serve both good and bad purposes, depending on how we use it. Some years back, it was reported that rebels in some rural districts of India were organizing football matches so as to gather masses to listen to their speeches. It also helped them scout for fit and active youths and get them recruited in the rebel army.
To conclude, social capital in itself is not good or bad. It is either a product or an ingredient. Its nature and state depends on the purpose it is serving. As a society consists of very diverse units with different priorities and philosophies, the formation of social capital can be very difficult at times. It requires new and innovative approaches – and sports can be one of them.
The writer is a Judoka who recently attended the Youth Leadership Campaign in South Korea
Related story
Pokhara aspiring as a water sports destination
