Secularism as a field of class struggle: State,religion, and class relations in Turkey

The dialectical relationship between secularism and capitalism, where contradictions in this relationship are resolved on the basis of class relations, results in various state‐religion relationships in different social formations. The limitations and particularities of secularism are exaggerated in countries that arrived late at capitalism, such as Turkey. These late‐developers are subject to the dynamics of uneven and combined development. This paper borrows from Marxism, particularly the theory of uneven and combined development, in order to explore the relationship between the consolidation of the modern nation‐state and its secularisation process during the bourgeois revolution of 1923 in Turkey.     

State, capital, and labour: the introduction of federal-provincial insurance for physician care in Canada*

Ce texte examine l'origine du projet de loi fédéral-provincial no. c-227 sur l'assurancemaladie au Canada. L'auteur affirme qu'il existe très peu d'évidence pour appuyer l'hypothèse selon laquelle ce projet de loi aurait été conçu principalement à cause du nombre important des conflits de classe. Les racines structurelles de la législation sont discutées et l'auteur suggére que l'Etat a réagi à des problèmes identifiés dans le secteur de la Santé Publique. En essayant de rationaliser la planification et la disponibilité des soins médicaux, l'Etat a agi dans les intérêts à long terme de la classe capitaliste, en cherchant à augmenter la capacité de production dans la classe ouvrière et à diminuer les coûts de maladie.
This paper examines the origins of federal-provincial insurance for physician care in Canada (Bill c-277). It is argued that there is little evidence to suggest that it was primarily a response to high levels of class conflict. The structural roots of the legislation are discussed and it is proposed that the state was responding to problems identified within the health sector. In attempting to rationalize the organization and delivery of health care, the state was acting in the long-term interests of the capitalist class by seeking to increase the productive capacity of labour and reduce the economic costs of illness.     

Social capital,human capital,and career success in public relations in Taiwan

This study examined the degree to which demographic, human capital, and social capital variables can predict career success for public relations practitioners in Taiwan. Social capital includes two dimensions: social trust and social network. Human capital includes education, rank, career tenure, and motivation. Public relations practitioners (150) from 16 agencies in Taiwan were interviewed in 2006. Social capital explained the significant variance in subjective career success. As for human capital, motivation negatively predicted job comfort, but positively predicted challenge and task significance. Career tenure and rank in the agency positively predicted autonomy, while only age and professional tenure predicted objective success. This study also revealed that the longer the practitioners stay in the business, the more the sense of autonomy, financial rewards, and support they have. Combined with the results of objective career success, career tenure is the best predictor for career success among all the variables in human capital. Since gender does not predict career success, we may infer that public relations practice in Taiwan does not seem hostile to women.     

Mobility closure in the upper class: assessing time and forms of capital

Most understandings of the ways classes become social groupings centre on processes of mobility closure whereby mutual appreciation and recognition within classes arise from homogenous experiences over time. The mapping of such structured biographies, however, remains understudied. This paper explores intra‐ and intergenerational mobility patterns in the upper strata of the Norwegian class structure and aims to include temporal processes and multiple forms of capital in the quantification of class trajectories. By combining multiple correspondence analysis and social sequence analysis, two important but often neglected aspects of recruitment to the upper class are emphasized: first, by introducing multiple forms of capital, different ways of maintaining mobility closure are demonstrated; second, different pathways to power are highlighted by distinguishing between divergent class careers. A key aim of the analysis is to explore internal divisions within the upper class in forms of parental capital (an ‘origin space’) and link these divisions to a typology of ‘destination careers’ in adulthood. The analysis suggests that individuals from modest origins are more likely to have careers that feature a biographically late arrival and/or short‐term affiliations to upper‐class positions whereas individuals from families rich in capital are more likely to have stable careers in the upper‐class fractions from which they originate. The analysis thus reveals important divisions in the trajectories of Norwegians who reach the upper class; not only are there differences in their upbringing in terms of the availability of different amounts and types of capital but such divisions also seem linked to their own class careers later in adulthood.     

Translating Bourdieu: cultural capital and the English middle class in historical perspective

This article examines the ways in which Pierre Bourdieu's work on culture and cultural capital can be applied to the study of the English middle class in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Drawing on a wide historical literature, the article argues for the significance of culture as a constitutive element of middle-class identities in England since 1800. It goes on to examine Bourdieu's ideas of 'objectivated', 'instutionalized' and 'incorporated' cultural capital, in the context of family, inheritance, education and the body. The article identifies changes in the historical forms which cultural capital has taken and emphasizes the importance of analysing family processes of intergenerational transmission.     

State,class, and reserve labour: the case of the 1941 Canadian Unemployment Insurance Act*

Cet article présente une analyse comparative des théories marxiste-instrumentaliste et marxiste-structuraliste du capitalisme d'État dans une étude de cas basée sur l'introduction de la Loi d'Assurance-Chômage canadienne de 1941. Il examine l'influence de l'accumulation de capital, du contrôle social du travail et du salaire de survie ouvrier sur cette législation. Cette analyse révèle que l'État fédéral a Créé l'assurance-chômage pour contrôler l'agitation sociale parmi les ouvriers non-employés et pour contribuer à sa propre accumulation de capital dans le contexte historique de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Les capitalistes se sont systématiquement opposés à l'assurance-chômage d'État de 1920 à 1941, bien que leur opposition se soit quelque peu tempérée au cours de la crise des années 1930. Les organisations ouvrières ont systématiquement défendu l'assurance-chômage depuis 1919, le radicalisme de certaines de leurs revendications culminant au cours de la crise. L'État fédéral ayant imposé l'assurance-chômage malgré l'opposition des milieux d'affaires canadiennes, on peut affirmer que la théorie marxiste-structuraliste qui accorde à 1'État une certaine indépendance vis-à-vis des milieux d'affaires, ce qui lui permet de satisfaire certaines revendications de la classe ouvrière, est la théorie qui rend le mieux compte du cas présenté. Using the introduction of the Canadian Unemployment Insurance Act in 1941 as a case study, the comparative validity of the Marxist instrumental and structural theories of the capitalist state is considered. The bearing of the interests of capital accumulation, social control of labour, and labour's wage subsistence on this legislation is examined. The analysis mainly shows that the federal state introduced unemployment insurance to control unrest among the unemployed and to assist its own accumulation of capital in the context of World War II. The capitalist class consistently opposed state unemployment insurance between 1920 and 1941, although its opposition weakened somewhat during the Depression of the 1930s. Labour organizations have consistently supported unemployment insurance since 1919. The radicalness of some of their proposals reached a high point during the Depression. Because the federal state introduced unemployment insurance largely over the objections of Canadian business, it is concluded that the Marxist structural theory, in which the state displays a relative autonomy from business and thereby accommodates some working-class demands, is the most valid theory for the case under examination.     

Trust-based social capital,institutions, and development

We estimate fixed-effects and Arellano–Bond GMM equations using panel data from a large group of developing countries and test whether trust-based social capital, proxied by contract-intensive money, complements the role of institutions in promoting development. The results we obtain provide robust evidence that social capital enhances the contribution of institutions when we focus on political institutions and weaker evidence when we use civil liberties. Both social capital and institutions have positive effects on income but the relationships these variables have with income tend to be non-monotonic. Moreover, social capital has a positive influence on the effectiveness of human capital.     

Social capital, networks and leisure consumption

This article reflects on the way in which personal ties affect the nature and content of consumption. While it is banal to observe that friends, kin, colleagues and neighbours influence anyone's pattern of consumption, comparatively little work exists on how this process operates. The article will be illustrated by some secondary analysis of the British Household Panel Survey which has a panel of approximately 10,000 people who have been interviewed annually since 1991. It analyses aspects of individual consumption in relation to people's associational involvement and friendship ties. The data is explored in the context of debates about social capital, attempting to apply the concept in order to analyse recreational practices. It is suggested that social capital is a flawed concept and that greater appreciation of the complexity and diversity of network ties is required to understand how personal connections influence consumption.     

Open adoption,human capital formation,and uncertainty

A model of child human capital formation is outlined, which is used to assess the consequences of uncertainty experienced by adoptive parents related to practices of openness in adoption. The model predicts that uncertainty in the adoption environment may lead to lower levels of human capital investments in adopted children. Empirical evidence indicates that uncertainty represented by fear of not bonding with the adopted child is the most important predictor of resistance to open adoption. His research interests include labor market mobility and human capital formation in the household. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 1989.     

Neighborhood disadvantage, network social capital, and depressive symptoms

Research on why neighborhood disadvantage matters for health focuses on the capacity of neighborhoods to regulate residents' behavior through informal social control. The authors extend this research by conducting a multilevel analysis of data from a 1995 telephone survey of 497 residents of 32 neighborhoods in a U.S. city. The authors find that network social capital mediates the contextual effect of neighborhood disadvantage on depressive symptoms and that health effects of network social capital persist when perceived neighborhood disorder, a standard indicator of low informal social control, is controlled for. The findings demonstrate the value of a conceptualization and measurement of network social capital that (1) considers ties that transcend neighborhood boundaries, (2) investigates health benefits of network social capital in the forms of closure and embedded support resources and range and embedded instrumental resources, and (3) uses network data on specific network members with strong and weak ties to respondents.     

Human capital,time use,and other family behavior

Human capital theory is recommended as a fertile theory to explain many aspects of family time use behavior. Some examples are given of the potential usefulness of the concepts of general and specific human capital. Investment of parental time in children is urged as a fruitful area of time use research.The criticisms of this article by my colleagues Rosemary Avery, Dean Lillard, and Dan Mont improved it materially. The views expressed are mine and not theirs, as they so ably pointed out, and I retain responsibility for them.Dr. Bryant's research interests include the consumption, investment and time use behavior of families and family members.     

Ethnic economies, affirmative action, and mining cultural capital

If the goal of affirmative action is to make the marketplace a more congenial place for women and minority persons to improve their economic situation, then its champions and detractors are bound to be disappointed. Only a comparatively small number of persons will ever benefit materially from such policies, and they are not likely to view their accomplishment as requiring them to give something back to the larger community or group in whose name the assistance was provided. An affirmative action plan organized around practices common to “ethnic economies,” on the other hand, would spread the benefit and the responsibility for an individual person's material success to a bigger and more inclusive community or ethnic group.     

Social order,cultural capital and citizenship*

The question of whether education should be seen as an instrument of social order is an old topic in the social sciences. There exist several theories concerning this question. Two of these rival theories are dealt with in this paper. On the basis of each, historical data have been looked at anew and empirical research has been carried out into the prevailing conditions in the Netherlands. On the basis of the first theory, which was inspired by Bourdieu and which concerns economic, cultural (including educational) and social capital, data on the Dutch history between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries have been reanalysed with respect to the attitude of the diverse sections of the dominant class towards culture in general and the university in particular. Dutch history can be regarded as a national variant of the universal tensions between ‘culture’and ‘knowledge’and between ‘culture’and ‘economics’in human societies. On the basis of Bourdieu's theory it is assumed that under the prevailing social conditions elementary schools will differ in ‘educational status’in the schools market. Empirical investigation confirms this hypothesis. The ‘educational status’of elementary schools mediates (reproduces) almost all of the influence of the childrens’social background on their school career, and reinforces this influence. On the basis of the second theory, which is based on the work of Meyer, Boli and Ramirez, data on the Dutch history in the Enlightenment period have been reanalysed with respect to the rise of mass education. These historical data give substantial evidence to the theory that the construction of the nation-state is of decisive importance for the rise of mass education. Our empirical investigation, however, does not confirm the hypothesis that in the actual situation elementary schools differ in ‘comprehensiveness’. Neither schools nor parents are oriented towards integration. Rather, the contrasts seem to be getting sharper in the 1980s and the schools as well as the social classes seem to be distancing themselves further from each other. Various sections of the dominant class are busy strengthening their position of power in education. In short, the use of schools to constitute citizens does not lessen the pressure towards differentiation. Thus, the theory of Boli and Ramirez explains the rise of mass education, but cannot explain its social class bound form, a fact that can be explained very well by Bourdieu's theory. Therefore the theories of both Bourdieu and Boli and Ramirez should be regarded not as rivalizing, but as complementary.     

Human capital, social capital, entrepreneurship and disability: an examination of some current educational trends in the UK

Influenced by European policy, human capital and social capital are currently of interest in UK education policy and practice, expressed particularly in the concepts of lifelong learning and entrepreneurship. Human capital and social capital ideas are shown to be flawed by not taking disability into account. The characteristics of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education are examined for relevance to young people with disabilities or learning difficulties and it is concluded that more could be done to develop opportunities for entrepreneurship. The position of people when work is not an option is considered, leading to the question of whether there is a 'disability industry', and an acknowledgement of the importance to the economy of disabled people as consumers and producers. A wider definition of entrepreneurship, which includes people with disabilities and learning difficulties, is sought and the paper concludes by discussing the wider implications for the learning community.     

In pursuit of capital: The charismatic turn among the Chinese managerial and professional class in Malaysia

This article explores a so far neglected dimension of the ongoing debate on the relationship between the politically contested position of the ethnic Chinese and their dominant role in the economies of Southeast Asia in general and in Malaysia in particular. While the prominence of the ethnic Chinese in the business life of Malaysia is ubiquitous, they also seem to be the engine of the striking growth of the Christian community, in particular the Pentecostal-Charismatic groups. This ‘charismatic turn’, it has been argued, reflects a major shift in the social position and power relations among the ethnic groups and the consolidation of the position of the Malaysian Chinese in the modern Malaysian nation state. This article critically reappraises this ‘empowerment thesis’ by analyzing the opportunities that conversion to Christianity and membership of Pentecostal-Charismatic groups offer to Malaysian Chinese business people, managers and professionals. In particular, this article identifies the forms of capital (in a Bourdieuan sense) involved and analyzes how these forms of capital are utilized and imbued with meaning in the interface of religion and business.     

Family as source,user, and builder of social capital

Purpose: For many years, family scholars have documented the significance of the family as a major institution for carrying out essential functions for individuals and societies: reproductive, physical sustenance, economic maintenance, socialization, nurturance, and meeting sexual and other social-emotional needs. The concept of social capital draws attention to the equally significant role of the family in building and supplying this component in the workings of the economy and society. Social capital provides a rubric for bringing together various ideas about the family that have been circulating for some time. A quarter of a century ago, the late Kenneth Boulding (1973) gave attention to the integrative function of the family, its role in supplying “the glue” that helps other parts of the social-economic system to hang and function together. More recently, Robert Bellah and his associates (1985) discussed the weakening of the moral or social ecology of a community—the web of moral understandings, relationships and commitments that tie people together—and how the family contributes to or, conversely, diminishes the social ecology. I consider social capital as a resource (i.e., matter, energy, or information converted into specific forms for attaining goals) embedded in relationships among people upon which they can draw to provide information or other resources or to facilitate activity of social or personal benefit. Family capital is a form of social capital for its members, as well as a contributor to the more general concept. I will emphasize positive forms or outcomes of social and family capital, realizing that harmful forms and outcomes also exist. I consider families to exist in a state of interdependence with community, societal and global socio-cultural, human-built, and physical-biological ecosystems.Methods: I will first focus on how the family through its nurturance, care-giving, and socialization function develops (or fails to develop) values, attitudes, expectations, and habitual patterns of behavior on which social capital and moral ecology depend. I will then discuss findings of research with families on small farms that illustrate the interdependence of family with other systems in its environment as source and user of social capital.Family as Builder and Source of Social Capital. Much has been written in recent years about the essential role of the family in building human capital, investing in the health, education, values and skills of it members to enable them to play productive roles in society. Human capital is essential for building economic, physical and social capital. I will not discuss this further, per se, but will concentrate on particular ways in which the family contributes to social capital.One of the most fundamental needs of human beings is development of the sense of trust—the belief that you can rely on and believe in others to do what is expected. Trust is the foundation of moral behavior on which social capital is built. The function of morality is to provide guidelines for social cooperation and coordination of activity in which humans can live together and interact with one another so as to avoid a situation in which “all are at war against all.” Building trust is part of the attachment process that begins in infancy as parents (or other primary caregivers) care for and meet the needs of young children for food, warmth, comfort, love, security, and human response. If these needs are not met in early life, a sense of mistrust develops; suspicion of others and failure to develop moral behavior or the ability to relate to and cooperate with others are likely results. In the world in which we live, we eventually learn that everyone cannot be trusted, but if a basic sense of trust has been established, betrayal and disappointment can be easier to deal with.Along with the sense of trust, family relationships and behavior help establish the principles of reciprocity and exchange—the notion that as you receive something from others, you are expected to give something in return. If you have given, you have a right to expect something in return. Reciprocity and exchange underlie creation and use of social capital. Boulding used the concept of grants that the family makes to its children or weaker members for material and emotional sustenance. Recipients of such grants do not provide “tit-for-tat” exchanges in return, but are sources of love and gratification to the giver. There is the assumption also, usually implicit, that children will provide care and help for parents in their older age. There is also the expectation that you should help other family members. Behavior in the family can also lead to generalized social reciprocity in which one gives to others without direct return from those to whom one has given, but gives because one has received benefits in the past.Research on social relations among older adults lends substantial support to operation of these principles in the family and in provision of continuity in human relationships through kinship structures. Virtually every study reports that most older adults are entrenched in a network of people who are very important to them—family and friend relationships that have existed for a long time. Parent–child and sibling relationships are especially important in providing economic aid, help with tasks, personal and health care, and companionship to older adults. Cross-generational help, such as provision of child care by grandparents, is also significant. Families, however, cannot meet all needs and must draw upon other systems. For example, friendship relationships are important in older life for many people, especially for leisure activities and intimacy, and have significant positive impact on well-being. Thus, while the family is a critical source of social capital, it must be seen as a system in a network of mutually interdependent systems. I hypothesize that learning how to participate in social groups and establish relationships is rooted in family behavior and in how open the boundaries are between the family and other groups in its ecosystem. Through its pattern of participation in other systems—religious, economic, civic, and the like—the family models behavior for future generations.Research with Families on Small Farms. Our research with families on small farms illustrates interactions with community systems for exchange of resources in using and creating social capital. We did intensive case studies over two-and-a-half years with three families who moved to farms at a field research station of Michigan State University as part of a research-demonstration program. In one facet of our research we obtained information about contacts the families made with systems in their environments through records and construction of ecomaps in which families identified various external systems with which they interacted and had exchanges. Systems were classified on a continuum of formality based on characteristics of structure and control with highly formal systems such as businesses, schools, and government agencies at one end and at the other informal relationships with relatives, friends, and neighbors. In between were semiformal systems with varying degrees of structure such as food and child care cooperatives, neighborhood and community clubs, and other interest groups. Some systems, such as local extension staff or clubs, were allied with formal systems but had more autonomy and flexibility. Exchanges were classified on the basis of the Foa and Foa (1974) framework in which it is proposed that six classes of resources account for the basic needs of human beings: money, goods, services, information, love/affection, and status. These are transmitted through interpersonal behavior interpreted as an exchange. Of particular significance for understanding social capital were findings related to informal and semiformal systems.Since the families had moved to a new community, many miles away from their extended families, establishing relationships with neighbors and making new friends became especially important as sources of friendship, status, information, and services. Locating or helping to create semiformal systems, including cooperatives and agricultural-interest groups such as sheep farmers or organic growers were also important, especially for getting and giving information about agricultural practices the families were trying out, such as organic farming for which, at that time, formal systems (e.g. the University) had little information to provide. Semiformal systems also provided friendship and status and served as places for barter, and sometimes sale, of goods and services. Systems of this nature play a unique role in what Flora and Flora (1993) propose as the kind of social infrastructure necessary for community development. By this is meant the “group level, interactive aspect of organizations or institutions” that can facilitate the flow of resources, particularly information. This type of infrastructure is essential for the development and flow of social capital. The family is an integral player in such an interdependent system for creating and using social capital.     

Social capital, the social economy and community development

Social capital is increasingly used in the field of communitydevelopment and the social economy. This article describes someof the results to emerge from a three-year research project(CONSCISE Project), which looked at the contribution socialcapital can make to the social economy within local economicdevelopment. Following the definition of social capital, thearticle examines how it can be assessed and then goes on tolist the main findings on the significance of social capitalin the understanding of the social economy and community development.It concludes with a number of policy implications on how socialcapital can be used within the context of community development.