I offer a critical view of the social capital thesis, which frequently
argues that more is better (and less is worse), by examining the ethics of
social capital, using Pierre Bourdieu's understanding of networks as
defined by their limits. I argue that social capital only assumes
conceptual coherence when distinguished from its complementary opposite. I
illustrate these theoretical points with a discussion of political reform
in Thailand and the 2001 general election. The election exemplifies the
benefits of the circulation of social capital: voter turnout and party
membership were up, and civil society was active. Yet democratic
achievements in Thailand were intimately tied to political corruption. In
Thailand, democracy and vote buying are intimately related as examples of
the productive dynamic of social capital and corruption; the civil and the
uncivil often produce each other. This essay thus expands social capital
theory's focus on the relations of people by examining the
relationality of concepts. One has to examine the quality of social
capital and the ethics of each network's inside/outside
distinction. Thus rather than being a political solution, social capital
is a theoretical problem, warranting further comparative research that
examines how civil social capital interacts with the uncivil social
capital of corruption, ethnocentrism, and sectarianism.William A. Callahan is a professor of international politics
at the University of Manchester, England. He worked in Thailand for five
years as a journalist and a lecturer at Rangsit University (Bangkok). His
most recent book is Contingent States: Greater China and Transnational
Relations. For sharing information and commenting on this essay, the
author thanks Gothom Arya, Michael Kelly Connors, Kevin Hewison, Laddawan
Tantiwittayaphitak, Naruemon Thabchumpon, Duncan McCargo, Sukanya
Bumroongsook, Sumalee Bumroongsook, Somchai Phatharathananunth, Frederic
Schaffer, Teera Vorrakitpokatorn, Thavesilp Subwattana, Viengrat Netipho,
and Stephen E. Welch. Special thanks to Jennifer L. Hochschild, the
Perspectives reviewers, Frederic Schaffer, and Andreas Schedler
for encouraging me to think about corruption and social capital in a new
way.
