The first systematic contemporary analysis of social capital was produced by
Pierre Bourdieu, who defined the concept as the aggregate of the actual or potential
resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more
or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition
(Bourdieu 1985, p. 248; 1980). This initial treatment of the concept appeared
in some brief Provisional Notes published in the Actes de la Recherche en
Sciences Sociales in 1980. Because they were in French, the article did not garner
widespread attention in the English-speaking world; nor, for that matter,
did the first English translation, concealed in the pages of a text on the sociology
of education (Bourdieu 1985).
This lack of visibility is lamentable because Bourdieus analysis is arguably
the most theoretically refined among those that introduced the term in contemporary
sociological discourse. His treatment of the concept is instrumental, focusing
on the benefits accruing to individuals by virtue of participation in
groups and on the deliberate construction of sociability for the purpose of creating
this resource. In the original version, he went as far as asserting that the
profits which accrue from membership in a group are the basis of the solidarity
which makes them possible (Bourdieu 1985, p. 249). Social networks are not
a natural given and must be constructed through investment strategies oriented
to the institutionalization of group relations, usable as a reliable source of other
benefits. Bourdieus definition makes clear that social capital is decomposable
into two elements: first, the social relationship itself that allows individuals to
claim access to resources possessed by their associates, and second, the
amount and quality of those resources.