Sociology Memos: Social Capital, Social Mobility, Social Status and Market Exchange

Running head : SOCIOLOGY MEMOS
SOCIOLOGY MEMOS
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SOCIOLOGY MEMOS
The following paper summarizes and analyzes various sociological theories provided by
different sociologists in depth. Social capital is an important aspect for economic development.
Social capital is the practice of building relations and networks in order to bridge the gap
between various social classes(Duncan). Social capital helps in developing relationships between
communities, corporate enterprises and nations. Cultural factors are one of the major
determinants of social capital (Bertaux and Thompson). In order to increase social capital trust
and commitment is an important factor. Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist believed that social
capital cannot be developed alone without cultural capital. According to Bourdieu, cultural
understanding is important to uphold the place in the class hierarchy. Bourdieu’s term points to a
world where the posh jobs go to the rich people.
The concept of social capital coveys the sociological sense of communal importance. The
various forms of social capital are mainly moral stratagems of the community. These moral
resources can be broadly divided into three categories: trust or the ‘positive’ values, second,
social regulations and norms, and third, social associations created through social networking
(Euteneuer). Societies in order to be well-functioning have to be based on a value system. Robert
Putnam emphasized on the concept that social capital is an important component for maintaining
democracy (Glass).
The term social mobility refers to the movement of people and groups within or between
different strata in the society. It is a change in a person’s social status that is different from a
person’s current status. Social mobility increases with the rise in social networking. The rise in
the social status provides the individual with social security (Heckman and Mosso). The rewards
and benefits that comes with the rise in a person’s social status often acts as a motivating for the
masses. It is said that good things in life are rare and man must compete to achieve those rare
things. However, social mobility is not always positive but at times it can also be negative.
Social mobility means that an individual must adjust and adapt to various unfavorable situations
and circumstances(Kasarda, Billy and West). Man must imbibe different cultures, norms, rules
and social obligations. Thus, social mobility does not guarantee happiness and mental peace.
Mobility can take place in the form of a person’s occupation or the change of occupation from
one generation to the other. Mobility can be broadly classified into horizontal mobility, vertical
mobility, upward mobility, downward mobility, inter-generational mobility, intra-generational
mobility and occupational mobility ("This American Life"). Social mobility depends on various
factors to operate positively (Willis). Factors like motivation of the individual, his educational
qualification, skill sets, achievements, training, migration opportunity, industrialization,
urbanization and various other factors determine a person’s social mobility.
Social status is the position of an individual in the society. The major determinants of
social class are power, wealth, authority, education, background, peer group, and other such
factors. However, social class is a phenomenon created by meritocracy. Social class comes with
its own advantages and disadvantages. The major disadvantage of social class is that it is an
ever-changing system and it is different of each individual (Portes). It cannot be controlled by an