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Trust, Responsibility, Power, and Social Capital

In: Power, Freedom, and Voting

Author

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  • Timo Airaksinen

    (University of Helsinki)

Abstract

This paper discusses trust as a form of social capital, that is, as a social resource which works as a facilitating condition of successful action coordination and social cooperation. It also discusses responsibility as a special source of trust. Coleman (1988) defines social capital in terms of its function of which, roughly, the following features are required: it is a property of a social structure which helps its individual or collective members’ successful action, that is, the function which is called social capital makes it easier for those actors to reach their goals (Putnam 1995). Fukuyama (1999) says that social capital is ‘an instantiated informal norm that promotes cooperation’. He does not mention social structure as Coleman does, and Coleman does not mention cooperation as Fukuyama does. These two defi- nitions may aim at a common idea, but their details disagree radically. Some social capital theorists talk about trust as a factor which exemplifies social capital, but if we believe in Coleman’s structural definition, it may be dif- ficult to see how the most demanding forms of trust fit in. Fukuyama explicitly allows for trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Timo Airaksinen, 2008. "Trust, Responsibility, Power, and Social Capital," Springer Books, in: Matthew Braham & Frank Steffen (ed.), Power, Freedom, and Voting, chapter 21, pages 405-419, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-540-73382-9_21
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-73382-9_21
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