Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
XX ISA World Congress of Sociology, Melbourne, Avustralya, 25 Haziran - 01 Temmuz 2023, ss.375, (Özet Bildiri)
Although there are different definitions of the social cohesion concept, there is somewhat consensus on Forrest and Kearns’s (2001) definition which suggests that the concept has five components: common values and civic culture, social order and social control, social solidarity, place attachment and identity, and social capital. This paper focuses on the social capital component. Social capital generally is utilised in a very positive connotation. Therefore, the empirical research has focused extensively on the positive outcomes of social capital. However, I argue that the harmful aspects of social capital have not been adequately examined in the literature. Using empirical data collected through qualitative methods, I examine how social capital can also be detrimental to society. As the case study of this paper, Malaysia is a plural society with a high proportion of ethnic minorities. The literature indicates that Malaysians have low levels of social capital. In fact, the reality is more complicated. Within their communal walls, both the dominant ethnic group of Malays and the main minority group, Chinese Malaysians, have high levels of social capital. The perpetuation of the colonial legacy of an ethnically-divided social and political system has fostered in-group solidarity and led to inter-group rivalries. The high level of in-group social capital has thus led to social exclusion, inequality, nepotism and favouritism. The clear division between Malays and non-Malays and the politics centred on ethnic identity led to social hierarchies. Moreover, in-group solidarity between ethnic groups leads to discriminatory practises;Malays and Chinese suffer from favouritism and glass ceiling problems in work life. Consequently, high bonding social capital strengthens their ethnic identities by weakening their belonging to national identity. Thus, I contend that social capital itself does not indicate social cohesion in a society. Rather, a high level of social capital can also impede social cohesion.