Libreremo

Questo libro il frutto di un percorso di lotta per laccesso alle conoscenze e alla formazione
promosso dal CSOA Terra Terra, CSOA Officina 99, Get Up Kids!, Neapolis Hacklab.
Questo libro solo uno dei tanti messi a disposizione da LIB!!"O, un portale finalizzato alla
condivisione e alla libera circolazione di materiali di studio universitario (e non solo!).
Pensiamo che in ununiversit dai costi e dai ritmi sempre pi escludenti, sempre pi
subordinata ali interessi delle aziende, LIB!!"O possa essere uno strumento nelle mani
deli studenti per riappropriarsi, attraverso la collaborazione reciproca, del proprio diritto allo
studio e per stimolare, attraverso la diffusione di materiale controinformativo, una critica della
propriet intellettuale al fine di smascherarne i reali interessi.
! diritti di propriet intellettuale (che siano brevetti o cop"riht) sono da sempre # e soprattutto
oi $ rosse fonti di profitto per multinazionali e randi ruppi economici, che pur di tutelare i
loro uadani sono disposti a privatizzare le idee, a impedire laccesso alla ricerca e a %ualsiasi
contenuto, taliando fuori dalla cultura e dallo sviluppo la strarande maioranza delle
persone. !noltre impedire laccesso ai saperi, renderlo possibile solo ad una ristretta minoranza,
reprimere i contenuti culturali dal carattere emancipatorio e proporre solo contenuti inoffensivi o
di intrattenimento sono da sempre i mezzi del capitale per arantirsi un controllo massiccio sulle
classi sociali subalterne.
L#i$noran%a& la 'ancan%a di (n pensiero critico rende s(cc(bi e sotto'ette alle
lo$ic)e di profitto e di oppressione* per +(esto riappropriarsi della c(lt(ra # che sia un
disco, un libro, un film o altro # , (n atto cosciente caratteri%%ato da (n preciso
si$nificato e peso politico. &ondividere e cercare canali alternativi per la circolazione dei
saperi sinifica combattere tale situazione, apportando benefici per tutti.
'bbiamo scelto di mettere in condivisione proprio i libri di testo perch( i primi ad essere colpiti
dallattuale repressione di %ualsiasi tipo di copia privata messa in atto da SIAE, overni e
multinazionali, sono la ran parte deli studenti che, considerati li alti costi che hanno
attualmente i libri, non possono affrontare spese eccessive, costretti i a fare i conti con affitti
elevati, mancanza di strutture, carenza di servizi e borse di studio etc...
-(esto .a e.idente'ente a ledere il nostro diritto allo st(dio) le universit dovrebbero
fornire libri di testo ratuiti o %uanto meno strutture e biblioteche attrezzate, invece di creare di
fatto uno sbarramento per chi non ha la possibilit di spendere miliaia di euro fra tasse e libri
oriinali... Proprio per reaire a tale situazione, senza stare ad aspettare nulla dallalto,
invitiamo tutt* a far circolare il pi possibile i libri, approfittando delle enormi possibilit che ci
offrono al momento attuale internet e le nuove tecnoloie, appropriandocene, liberandole e
liberandoci dai limiti imposti dal controllo repressivo di tali mezzi da parte del capitale.
/accia'o fronte co'(ne da.anti ad (n proble'a c)e coin.ol$e t(tt0 noi!
iappropria'oci di ci1 c)e , (n nostro in.iolabile diritto!
csoa
TerraaTerra
Get Up Kids Neapolis Hacklab csoa Terra Terra csoa Officina 99
+++.etup,ids.or +++.neapolishac,lab.or +++.csoaterraterra.or +++.officina--.or
www.libreremo.org
6 Spring Printemps 2001
S
ocial capital is a key concept in the growing
recognition of the interconnections between social
and economic outcomes. Given our mandate to focus
on horizontal and trans-disciplinary policy research, it is
an obvious theme for an issue of ISUMA.
Social capital is generally defined as the relationships,
networks and norms that facilitate collective action. Some
include trust in the definition but others, like Michael
Woolcock, argue for keeping what social capital is distinct
from what it does. Another fundamental distinction is often
made between bonding and bridging social capital.
Bonding social capital refers to those relationships and
norms that strengthen ties within groups. Bridging refers
to linking across groups.
Social capital is closely related to both social cohesion
and human capital, two other very important concepts in
policy and policy research circles. As Tom Schuller says in
his paper, social capital is both a consequence and a pro-
ducer of social cohesion. Whereas social cohesion em-
phasizes processes and outcomes, social capital emphasizes
the notion of investments and assets that bring benefits,
benets that are not fully appropriated by the individuals
making the investments. And while human capital focuses
on the individual agents who invest in education and train-
ing, social capital emphasizes the relationships and norms
that link those individuals.
There is growing evidence that social capital has impor-
tant implications, for prosperity, health and self-rated hap-
E D I T O R I A L
Social
C A P I T A L
social capital
7 isuma
piness. People who have strong networks of relationships
tend to be more successful in their careers and live longer.
The same seems to be the case for communities and soci-
eties in which there are strong and overlapping networks of
formal and informal relationships; individuals in commu-
nities and societies with strong social capital tend to be
more prosperous, healthier and experience less crime.
Interest in social capital research was given tremendous
impetus by the work of Robert Putnam. He marshals a
compelling case for the importance of social capital in terms
of a range of social and economic outcomes, and then doc-
uments a dramatic decline over the last several decades in
social capital in the United States. Putnams sobering as-
sessment of u.s. social capital makes the phenomenal suc-
cess of the u.s. economy that much more mysterious. One
has to wonder if the United States is an exception to the
patterns found elsewhere (including in the past), or will the
cost of declining social capital manifest itself in the future?
Or is Putnam missing something fundamental in his as-
sessment of u.s. social capital, as some of his critics sug-
gest (see Alison Van Rooys review of his book herein)?
If social capital is indeed as important as Putnam and
other authors in this issue seem to suggest, and if it is de-
clining in the United Statesfor reasons not unique to that
countrythe policy research and policy community will
want to pay attention.
We clearly need to know more about the determinants of
social capital. In his article, Glaeser focuses on individuals
and presents social capital as an individual investment de-
cision inuenced by a range of factors.
Most of the other social capital contributions herein an-
alyze social capital by looking for correlations between net-
works of relationships, norms and trust, and favorable social
outcomes, such as strong economic performance, lower
crime and better health. This type of analysis also provides
important insights into what factors seem to reinforce social
capital. For example, there is a very strong association be-
tween higher education and measures of social capital, sug-
gesting public investment in education may be one lever that
governments might use to strengthen social capital.
Research on social capital is potentially very rich both
in terms of countering what is arguably an overemphasis on
individuals in much economic literature, and in terms of
trying to capture some of the complexities and interrelat-
edness of the modern world.
These are, however, tremendously complex realities, and
the standard measures for social capital membership or
participation in formal or informal networks, levels of char-
itable giving, or levels of trust hardly seem up to the job.
Not surprisingly, therefore, much of the discussion is about
denition and measurement issues. How should we mea-
sure social capital and how can we distinguish it from
human capital? What are the determinants of each? How
can we better assess the impact of social capital on eco-
nomic performance and other measures, for instance, crime,
health and happiness? These are fundamental questions if
we are to determine what role if any there is for the state in
promoting social capital.
Putnam and, indeed, all of the authors are weakest in
terms of policy prescriptions. This is perhaps not surprising
given the recent vintage of the social capital concept and
the complexity of the reality behind the label. Social capi-
tal is, however, already proving a powerful framework for
horizontal policy research and analysis. As Woolcock says:
it is allowing scholars, policy makers, and practitioners
from different disciplines to enjoy an unprecedented level of
co-operation and dialogue. Hopefully, continued research
and the development of better survey instruments will im-
prove our understanding of social capital, its determinants,
and the dynamics through which it affects various social
and economic outcomes
Several of the articles in this issue are based on papers
that were presented at a recent symposium on The
Contribution of Human and Social Capital to Sustained
Economic Growth and Well-being, organized by the
Applied Research Branch of Human Resources Develop-
ment Canada, in conjunction with oecd. We are grateful to
the symposium sponsors and authors for making sympo-
sium material available to us, which we have complemented
with other papers on social capital. John Helliwell, one of
Canadas leading scholars on social capital, was rappor-
teur for the symposium and editor of the symposium pro-
ceedings, which will be available shortly. He generously
accepted to serve as guest editor and can be greatly credited
for the outstanding calibre of the papers presented in this
third issue of ISUMA. I
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