Varieties of social capital…

There’s much debate over the various forms that social capital
takes, but one fairly straightforward approach divides it into three
main categories:

  • Bonds: Links to people based on a sense of common identity
    (“people like us”) – such as family, close friends and people who
    share our culture or ethnicity.
  • Bridges: Links that stretch beyond a shared sense of identity, for
    example to distant friends, colleagues and associates.
  • Linkages: Links to people or groups further up or lower down the
    social ladder