Similar examples are reported by Stepick (1992) in his study of Haitian-
American youth in Miami and by Suarez-Orozco (1987) and Matute-Bianchi
(1986, 1991) among Mexican-American teenagers in Southern California. In
each instance, the emergence of downward leveling norms has been preceded
by lengthy periods, often lasting generations, in which the mobility of a particular
group has been blocked by outside discrimination. That historical experience
underlines the emergence of an oppositional stance toward the mainstream
and a solidarity grounded in a common experience of subordination Once in place, however, this normative outlook has the effect of helping perpetuate
the very situation that it decries.
Notice that social capital, in the form of social control, is still present in
these situations, but its effects are exactly the opposite of those commonly
celebrated in the literature. Whereas bounded solidarity and trust provide the
sources for socioeconomic ascent and entrepreneurial development among
some groups, among others they have exactly the opposite effect. Sociability
cuts both ways. While it can be the source of public goods, such as those celebrated
by Coleman, Loury, and others, it can also lead to public bads. Mafia
families, prostitution and gambling rings, and youth gangs offer so many examples
of how embeddedness in social structures can be turned to less than socially
desirable ends. The point is particularly important as we turn to the more
recent and more celebratory versions of social capital.