Three elements of social capital
Dr. Morteza Imanirad. It has been a long time since social capital entered the development and policy literature. Social capital, like a broad and very powerful platform, gives life to economic policies. In other words, social capital allows policies to be effective. Without a wide and efficient network of social capital, the economy and economic policies cannot work properly. Just like a car entering a rough dirt road from the highway.
Apart from the different definitions of social capital, three key elements can be highlighted in social capital. One is Commitment. When there is a commitment, it means that the government has a commitment to the people. The government’s commitment is not to its own interests, nor to centralizing and gaining more power, nor to political identity at the international level, but to the people. It is committed to people’s livelihood and life. It is the concern of the people. Its purpose is to take care of people. The second is integrity in the form of honoring the word. When a word is said, the government stands by its word, even if it has to pay for it. The government’s words are the same as its actions, and when its words are different from its actions, it apologizes to the people for its incompleteness and failure to honor its words. It makes the integrity of the relationship between the people and the government clear, and from this transparency, a significant trust is formed between the people and the government. It makes the entire government accountable. At every stage, the government must clarify its relationship with the people. In this situation, the government is trusted by the people. The government listens to the voice of the people and responds to them when necessary. Confidence creates an unbreakable relationship between the people and the government. When the word of the government is respected, the people accept its position, and from the heart of this meaningful relationship between the people and the government, effective economic policies emerge. The third element is Agency. In the agency of the government, he accepts his mistakes and becomes responsible. It does not attribute its mistakes to outside borders. He takes responsibility for the problems even if they are caused by the previous government’s unfavorable performance. It never makes the people or a part of the people responsible for the ineffectiveness of the policies. In everyday terms, the government does not throw its ball in anyone’s court. Agency gives power to the government. It strengthens its relationship with people. The government apologizes to the people for not doing its job properly in a certain policy. Apology does not weaken the government, it makes it stronger. People can rely on the government and its policies.
When these three elements work, social capital makes economic capital productive. It boosts the economy. Policies are burdened with fewer obstacles. The friction between the government and the people is minimized. This issue causes stability in the society and economy to be institutionalized in a sustainable way. This stability gives a worthy contribution to economic investment and movement towards development. Numerous studies in the world and several studies in Iran show that when the country is unstable, the level of investment and economic growth decreases. The data show that whenever socio-political stability is low, the rate of capital accumulation and GDP decline.
The important point is that apart from international threats and the fluctuations of the global economy, the degree of social stability in a country depends on the commitment, integrity (sanctity of the word) and agency of the government or government. It is natural that to the extent that governments are loyal to these three principles, economic policy will be more effective and economic growth will be greater. In other words, the presence of these three elements is inevitable for the efficiency of economic policies, and the continuation of lack of loyalty and commitment to these elements provides more platforms for destruction in the economy. The time for this reconstruction is very short
This post is written by Karim_Naghdi