scholarly journals Social capital in cooperatives: an evolutionary Luhmannian perspective

Author(s):  
Vladislav Valentinov ◽  
Constantine Iliopoulos

AbstractIn a recent contribution to this journal, Deng et al. (2021) draw on an extensive range of theoretical and empirical literature to make the case for the tendency of social capital resources of agricultural cooperatives in the Western world to decline over time. The present paper revisits this argument by drawing on a Luhmannian systems-theoretic perspective that takes the capitalist economic system to be limitedly sensitive and receptive to a broad variety of human needs. Whereas many of these needs remain marginalized and neglected, some of them may be codified or translated into a profit-making calculus. Cooperatives are shown to present one of the channels through which this codification may be possible; namely, the codification effect of cooperatives enables the incorporation of a multitude of mutual self-help activities into the economic system. This incorporation gives rise to intrasystemic adjustment processes that can be considered complete when the mutual self-help activities introduced by cooperatives no longer require the cooperative form and are integrated into the activities of investor-owned firms. If this view is accepted, then declining social capital may be an indicator of the successful codification process, which helps to make the economic system less exclusionary and more sensitive to human needs.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Isabel Saz-Gil ◽  
Ignacio Bretos ◽  
Millán Díaz-Foncea

How cooperatives generate and absorb social capital has attracted a great deal of attention due to the fact that they are collective organizations owned and democratically managed by their members, and, accordingly, are argued to be closely linked to the nature and dynamics of social capital. However, the extant literature and knowledge on the relationship between cooperatives and social capital remain unstructured and fragmented. This paper aims to provide a narrative literature review that integrates both sides of the relationship between cooperatives and social capital. On the one hand, one side involves how cooperatives create internal social capital and spread it in their immediate environment, and, on the other hand, it involves how the presence of social capital promotes the creation and development of cooperatives. In addition, our theoretical framework integrates the dark side of social capital, that is, how the lack of trust, reciprocal relationships, transparency, and other social capital components can lead to failure of the cooperative. On the basis of this review, we define a research agenda that synthesizes key trends and promising research avenues for further advancement of theoretical and empirical insights about the relationship between cooperatives and social capital, placing particular emphasis on rural and agricultural cooperatives.


Author(s):  
Dimitra Chasioti ◽  
James Binnie

AbstractProblematic pornography use (PPU) has been extensively studied in terms of its negative implications for various life domains. The empirical literature reveals measured outcomes of interpersonal and intrapersonal dysfunction in participants’ everyday living, supporting its classification as a disorder. The increasing number of complaints around PPU opens the door to the creation of online self-help rebooting communities. This qualitative study aimed to provide a better understanding of this behavior by investigating potential etiological pathways contributing to the onset of PPU, as they were expressed by members of the online NoFap/PornFree self-help communities with self-perceived PPU. The critical narrative analysis reveals a complex web of mutually informing causal connections. The dialectical relationship between situational resources, material conditions, and an embodied spectator gives rise to an online persona with motivations of self-exploration, experimentation, and socializing. A sense of vulnerability rendered the use of pornography as a means of escape and validation. Furthermore, commitment to abstinence, framed by the notions of recovery and relapse, was found to be a major factor for maintaining distress. The study highlighted the need for a thorough understanding of the etiological pathways of PPU for a more effective and targeted intervention. Moving beyond biomedical conceptualizations suggests an intervention whereby PPU is placed in a context of a crisis of meaning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
A.A. Gde Putra Pemayun ◽  
A.A. Istri Agung Maheswari

This study examines the "Economic Impact of Craftsmen Statue on Community Base Tourism Development in Tohpati village Klungkung Bali". The core concept of economic problems is the imbalance between unlimited human needs and the means of satisfying the needs of a limited number. Economics should not be emphasized through the point, but it should be emphasized as an approach to explain human behavior (Gary Becker). The economic system is a means used to regulate all economic activities in society whether done by the government or private in order to achieve prosperity and prosperity together. The Economic system can be divided into three namely: a First capitalist economic system that is all economic activity submitted to the market. Second, the communist economic system is all things governed by the government. The third is a mixed economic system that is a combination of the two economic systems above (capitalist and communist). Indonesia should adopt a mixed economic system because firstly, Indonesia is an emerging country, where market failures often occur due to uneven information or accessibility to transportation and communication facilities. The second is that there are still many Indonesian people are below the poverty line. Thirdly most Indonesians have businesses that are still classified into small and medium enterprises that still can not compete perfectly with a bigger business.


Author(s):  
Irmina Jaśkowiak

Identity construction is one of the fundamental human needs. The process takes place in two areas simultaneously: internal, self-reflexive and external, associated with a sense of belonging to a particular group. The Jews, until the beginning of the nineteenth century constituted quite uniform society voluntarily separating themselves from other communities. As a result of emancipation and assimilation processes, various influences affect their identity. As a consequence the Jews faced two difficulties. The first one was the dilemma between own nation and territorial homeland while the other was the progressing deep internal divisions. At present Jewish identity is most of all national and ethnical identity strongly reinforced by historical memory and fight with anti-Semitism. After the period of the twentieth century crisis and in the light of the western world secularization it has become also cultural identity.Identity construction is one of the fundamental human needs. Theprocess takes place in two areas simultaneously: internal, self-reflexiveand external, associated with a sense of belonging to a particulargroup. The Jews, until the beginning of the nineteenth century constitutedquite uniform society voluntarily separating themselves fromother communities. As a result of emancipation and assimilation processes,various influences affect their identity. As a consequence theJews faced two difficulties. The first one was the dilemma betweenown nation and territorial homeland while the other was the progressingdeep internal divisions. At present Jewish identity is most of allnational and ethnical identity strongly reinforced by historical memoryand fight with anti-Semitism. After the period of the twentieth centurycrisis and in the light of the western world secularization it hasbecome also cultural identity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 174-200
Author(s):  
Radu Ban ◽  
Michael J. Gilligan ◽  
Matthias Rieger

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 495-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Locke ◽  
Catherine M. Flanagan

AbstractVan de Vliert embraces a “supply side” model of human needs, underplaying a “demand” model whereby individuals, motivated by psychological needs, develop coping strategies that help them meet their personal goals and collectively exert an influence on social and economic systems. Undesirable climates may inflate the value of financial capital, but they also boost the value of social capital.


Societies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Ruducha ◽  
Xinran Huang ◽  
James Potter ◽  
Divya Hariharan ◽  
Danish Ahmad ◽  
...  

The limitations of individual level interventions in changing behaviors to improve global maternal, newborn and child health have generated more interest in the patterns of social influence and decision making embedded in families, friends and communities. The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of village dynamics in India and how first degree social and advice networks and cognitive perceptions of 185 recently delivered women (RDW) in areas with and without women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) affect immediate breastfeeding. Data was collected in 6 blocks and 36 villages in Uttar Pradesh, India. The expansion of RDW’s social worlds and creation of social capital through the organization of Self-Help Groups in their villages allowed us to examine basic relationships and advice formation as well as perceptions of interconnectedness of known groups. RDW living in SHG villages and blocks had consistently higher numbers of relationship ties, health advice ties and higher density of health advice networks than RDW living in the non-SHG areas. RDW’s perceived knowing ties were also significantly higher between family and health workers in the SHG areas with related higher immediate breastfeeding rates. These results suggest that SHGs can accelerate community social capital and promote more accountability in the health system to engage with families and support the change from traditional to more evidence-based health practices.


1954 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-305
Author(s):  
H. van B. Cleveland

There is not a great deal to be said about economics which is truly universal. One can say that economics is the study of economic systems. Economic systems can be defined as systems of human actions concerned with the production and the distribution of goods and services which are scarce relative to the wants of the community. But statements of this kind, which attempt to define the economic aspect of human society in universally valid terms, are far too general to serve as premises from which an economic theory, useful for understanding actual economic problems, can be logically deduced. To have theory, one must start with premises and assumptions about some particular economic system, historically given, or some particular kind of economic system. The great bodies of economic thought of the Western world—mercantilism, classical and neo-classical economic liberalism, and the various schools of Marxist economic—have been theories relevant to particular economic systems: those, let us say, of the Western world in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHERMAN FOLLAND

AbstractThis paper presents an economic model to connect with the substantial empirical literature on social capital and health that exists largely outside of economics. Representative papers from that literature are reviewed and these show that disagreements exist on the nature and definition of social capital. The paper presents a new line of reasoning to support the view of social capital as a network of interpersonal bonds to include the bonds of family and close friends, not just the community at large. It then adapts and extends the work of Becker and Murphy on social economics to explain the demand for health goods as well as health bads in the presence of increased social capital. It further develops choice under risk to explain the demand for goods that entail a risk of death, such as cigarettes, illegal drugs, or excessive drinking. Empirical examples, including new statistical analyses are presented to illustrate the derivations.


Author(s):  
Annemarie Groot Kormelinck ◽  
Christine Plaisier ◽  
Roldan Muradian ◽  
Ruerd Ruben

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