The New Leviathan Blog

Social capital as a third way The World Bank is changing era. Its next annual World Development Report, which must be made public in September, encourages the governments of poor countries to supervise and support their peasantries, going against the neo-liberal doctrine of "structural adjustment" defended by the international donor for a generation. For the first time since 1982, this report, which guides the World Bank's strategy, focuses on agriculture. Abandoned...Read More >>

The explosion of poverty in Western countries 1, Nearly a fifth of Greeks (19.6%) live below the poverty line, according to a study made public by the Greek Ministry of Economy. (Belga 01/18/2007). 2, The gap between the rich and the poor in the United States is increasingly wide and the number of people having fallen into extreme poverty has never been higher in 30 years, reported an American study published on Saturday . Nearly 16 million Americans (more than 5% of the total...Read More >>

The international decline of social capital Distrust of the political and economic "elite" is growing, revealed an opinion poll carried out by the Gallup Institute from November to December among 55,000 people from sixty countries. This result reveals a sharp deterioration in humanity's confidence in its future: the same survey published a year earlier gave the advantage to optimists (35 pc) over pessimists (30 pc). The greatest pessimists are the Greeks, Portuguese and...Read More >>

Microcredit and social capital Microcredit consists of granting small loans to entrepreneurs or artisans who cannot access traditional bank loans. It is developing especially in developing countries, where it makes it possible to realize micro-projects thus promoting activity and wealth creation but is also practiced in developed countries or in transition. Micro-credit is part of a more complete sphere which includes other financial tools such as savings, micro-insurance and ...Read More >>

Communication rules that can help create social capital by establishing clarity and trust: the four "Toltec agreements" “Let your word be impeccable” Speak with integrity, only say what you think. Do not use speech against yourself or to speak ill of others. “Don't r...Read More >>

Social capital is a key concept in social psychology, sociology, economics and political science. Although its definition and its measurement have caused a lot of ink to be spilled (which of course contributes to the interest in the concept...), it could be clearly defined by "the collective value of all the norms and social relations allowing the coordination of actions with a view to achieving common objectives” (James Coleman) or as a “set of attitudes and mental dispositions favori...Read More >>