When we
think of the term “wealth” we are usually used to associating it with terms of
money or property. Sometimes we will also talk about a person who is "rich
in knowledge" or even "rich in friends". But sociology offers us
a variety of ways to look at what makes us rich.
In his book
"Forms of Capital", the renowned sociologist Pierre Bourdieu proposes
to introduce, in addition to the discussion of economic capital, the concepts
of social capital, cultural capital and symbolic capital. According to
Bourdieu, social capital describes the human connection resources of human
beings, their friends, the community and the dating and collaboration systems.
The people we know, our connections and our frameworks of belonging can
according to Bourdieu promote us in life and contribute to the level of wealth
no less than the amount of money we have in the bank.
Cultural capital, according
to Bourdieu, is the amount of knowledge a person has. Knowledge is capital no
less than money because it can also be used by us to improve our situation in
the world and live a better and more comfortable life.
Symbolic
capital is expressed
in the prestige and appreciation that a person receives. Even if I am a person
who is not particularly rich in economic terms or even not particularly smart
(cultural capital), I can still be rich in a sense if I gain privileged status
within a particular community and people’s appreciation.
According to
Bourdieu's theory, the different types of capital can be converted between
them. For example, I can use my economic capital to acquire education (cultural
capital) and use my education to acquire prestige and appreciation
(symbolic capital) and through them also a system of connections (social
capital). If I am rich in social capital then I can use it to improve my
economic options and so on and so forth. According to Bourdieu, the different
types of capital play an important role in social stratification and the
replication of social status, since the upper classes in society tend to hold
high levels of all types of capital.
Other forms of capital
Bourdieu's
theory was developed to account for several other forms of capital:
Economic
capital can be
divided into several different types of capital, including financial capital,
which is expressed in terms of money in the bank, and material capital,
which is expressed in physical assets and assets. Similarly, cultural capital
can be divided into academic capital that expresses a person's secondary
education and the ability to translate it into success and professional
capital that expresses a person's skills, training and certification
system.
Another type
of capital is individual capital which is defined as a talent or special
qualities that a person has. Individual capital includes various skills
(painting talent, music, etc.) but also personal skills such as creativity,
initiative, daring, charisma and more.
Another type
of capital is experiential capital that expresses a person's experiences
in his life that he can translate into various benefits (almost every workplace
today would prefer actual experience over theoretical training). Finally,
another type of capital is spiritual capital which expresses a special
accumulation of a combination of cultural, experiential and sometimes also
social and even symbolic capital that brings the person to a better quality of
life through a spiritual way.
See also: Bourdieu's Field Theory Explained
