Social capital is often a concept thought of as a buzzword
mentioned in conferences and dissertations. But it is important. Basically, it
is the benefit we get as a society from our social relationships and
interactions. That is, the trust, norms, and shared values that create
cooperation and collaboration between us. The more we as citizens work
together, trust each other, and believe in our communities and community
institutions, the more we build our identity, economy, and democracy (after
all, you need to trust someone to do business with them, or to want them to
govern you).
اضافة اعلان
Essentially, how much do we trust other Jordanians outside our
immediate circle? To what extent do we participate in our community life? Are
we involved in civic life or political life? These are important questions
because that trust and involvement is what holds us together.
And what drives us apart? Well, anything that makes us act as
isolated individuals and not part of the community. So, everything from low
trust in public institutions to a social life that exists only in social
media.
Regional and international changes have brought about a lot of
uncertainty to Jordan. Whether it's a hostile right wing Israeli government,
a failed narco-state on our border, a pandemic or the war on Ukraine.
Each of these events carry with them a multitude of potential economic,
political, security or geopolitical crises and threats. However, among all
these macro issues stand small in front of one data point, often overlooked and
ignored, our declining social capital.
Three things you should know:
1. Why it matters: There are several causes why social capital would decline. Some
of these are our fault (individually), fault of our politics, and the fault of
the current state of the world.
Social media can connect us with friends and family, but, as we
know, there is a
strong anti-social aspect to it. We scroll accounts and pages of
people we don’t know, interact with pages that have increasing AI, and let an
algorithm choose which news and opinions we see. And we know that social media
drives us to the more extreme news and pages. It works us
up so we keep coming back and engaging. But excessive consumption of
sensationalized or negative content can also decrease social capital and create
a sense of mistrust and pessimism, undermining the sense of community and
shared values. All that online negativity, mixed with disappointment in state
institutions can divide us politically. When societies become politically
divided, it can lead to decreased trust and cooperation among different
ideological groups. It is important to debate diverse ideas, but when it leads
to distrust between different political groups, it can break our society and
not build it.
Mostly, it costs time. As we sit inside online, we are not
outside in our community with neighbors, colleagues, and fellow citizens.
Employment plays a big part. Work from home, or
‘gig-economy’ jobs allow individuals to earn money without
social interaction among coworkers and neighbors. A centralized economy means
that almost all jobs are in the large cities only, which hollows out rural or
smaller communities. People who belonged to a vibrant smaller community may now
feel anonymous in a major city without any connection to neighbors or
investment in the city’s future. As economic inequality increases,
society becomes split between those who have a (very) comfortable income and
those who do not. This splits the country and community. When individuals feel
large differences in wealth and opportunities, it can lead to a sense of
unfairness and weaken social bonds. How can I trust someone to make decisions
on my behalf (in politics or business) if I feel they are rich at my expense?
There are many more. As people move away or become more focused
on individual needs, traditions. We lose shared experiences. Community
traditions may die away, shaking our identity. As traditions fade, so may
traditional institutions. All this results in declining engagement in civic
affairs and declining interactions with others - especially with others outside
our immediate circle.
All of this drives us apart. As we are split apart into smaller
and smaller groups - or even into individual units - we stop caring about the
‘community’ which means we stop caring about people outside our immediate
circle. Ultimately, we lose trust in each other. Low levels of trust among
individuals can lead to reduced cooperation and collaboration, necessary for a
private sector, a democracy, and a civil society.
So, what’s the problem with any of this?
2. Jordan and social capital
Social capital holds together the very bonds of society. As
social capital declines we see low civic participation, worse public health,
higher crime, low trust in the private sector, low voter turnout, inequality,
divisions between groups, and discrimination. It can even lead to an increase
of corruption as people may not help others or even perform their own job
without an incentive.
In general
70% of Jordanians feel they have no influence whatsoever
over government decision-making. There is declining trust in institutions,
including, worryingly, in the judiciary. And when asked if they trust others or
needed to be very careful with others,
83.5% of Jordanians stated you ‘need to be careful’.
There was an excellent study on social capital and the
real world implications - you can read it
here. This paper argues the relationship between trust in
government and higher political participation and voter turnout, and they're
all connected to social capital which can help increase trust in government and
higher political participation.
In Jordan we can see that clearly play out in our
voting patterns and our trust in institutions. The lower trust the lower turn
out like in the parliamentary elections, where parliament has continuously been
one of the least trusted institutions - while municipalities and local
elections enjoy a higher trust from Jordanian and we that translated in the
higher voter turn out.
3. What would fix it?
Well, some
research shows that a sudden crisis can unite people.
But in many countries the COVID-19 pandemic further divided communities, and
didn’t unite them.
Otherwise, there are no quick fixes, but several long-term
solutions. Here are a few:
Elected officials can actually represent people. Members of
Parliament can hold town halls in their district, they can do a walking tour of
their communities (rather than showing off their expensive cars), they can
listen.
Local media can be supported - such as local city radio stations
or news sites or newsletters. Let people be informed about what is happening in
their neighborhood and give them a platform to give their opinion. Otherwise,
the angriest person with a Facebook page controls the narrative.
Ultimately, it is shared community activities - community
centers, holiday celebrations, a local sports team, the mosque or church, town
hall meetings, running as a local candidate, neighborhood clean-ups, or
promoting local cultural heritage. Have our youth interviewed their
grandparents about local history or what happened in their neighborhood?
It is about getting together, it is about face-to-face
interactions. It is about any forum, event, networking opportunity, or activity
which brings together people from different backgrounds. Bluntly, this is
important from different class backgrounds.
My take:In today's complex world of social media, online shopping,
remote work, and global disappointments with liberal democracy (more on that
later), the decline of social capital has become critical and Jordan is no
exception. Social capital, a used and abused buzzword, actually has real
implications for our collective well-being. Yet, as we grapple with issues
ranging from a volatile geopolitical environment to technological advancements,
the erosion of social capital has quietly become a significant challenge that
might halt our journey to becoming a more inclusive society.
Along with declining trust in institutions, and increased
economic inequality, social media and technology have also exacerbated the
problem. While these platforms offer connection, they also create
isolation, with algorithms driving polarization and pushing extreme viewpoints.
The endless stream of negative content erodes trust and undermines community
bonds. I would even argue that trust online is dangerous, we must be careful
with others. The way the online world works is actually backwards from our real
one, to the extent that online rules have spilled into our daily interactions
in our local community.
There is no alternative - we must rebuild and increase our
social capital just like a patient must prioritize his or her health. There is
plenty of research on this, one piece that I found to be most interesting and
applicable to Jordan is
Social capital: Why we need it and how we can create more of it. Although this paper examines social capital in the
US, I believe a key takeaway from this paper is empowerment of local
governments and communities.
For a while when the world was optimistic about gig-work
and automation, free market zealots said ‘Uber-ize everything!’. They wanted
all sectors to have a consumer-driven service that directly connects the
service providers (drivers) with the consumers (passengers). That dream
fizzled. But I would go so far as to say “Decentralize everything!”
Why? In Jordan we have seen a trend among our youth where they
show higher trust in local government and tribal leaders more than they do in
centralized authority such as parliament and the government. The way for us to
capitalize on this is by empowering our local communities and fostering an
in-system engagement through local elections, municipal councils. In order to
achieve what the modernization committee was set to achieve, we’ll need a new
local government law, a law that will enable and empower local government and
local leaders to take control and responsibility, a law that will enable local
communities to hold these leaders accountable. This isn’t just about empowering
municipal councils, but about making all levels of government and services more
relevant to citizens and communities.
Once we decentralize, then we can better work on supporting
local (not national) civil society, local media, local sports teams, and local
services.
While the new political parties prepare for next year’s
parliamentary elections I personally do not believe they will have a
substantial effect in shifting national perceptions of political parties,
parliament or voter turnout. It’s too early, we are all adapting to the idea of
political identities and party representation, and Parliament is too irrelevant
for many of us. However, if any parties in parliament refocus their efforts on
local communities and get their party elected in municipal elections, then they
will truly be able to influence the people. After all, people rely on
municipalities for services, generally trust them, and interact with them more
than other levels of government. Mayors actually command a budget making them
arguably more powerful than a member of Parliament. Instead of creating a new
dynamic of stakeholders, why don’t we empower the local communities to take
care of what they already have - their neighborhoods.
I know a lot of our attention will be
focused on the national parliamentary elections next year but, personally, I
will be watching the local elections that follow – The party that successfully
gains seats in those areas will be the party to watch - and the party that
contributes to rebuilding our social capital.
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