ABSTRACT
Social capital networks are ubiquitous building blocks of society. However, these networks do not work the same in all societies. In pre-modern societies social capital typically involves informal face-to-face relations of family, friends and neighbours. What makes a modern society distinctive is that, in addition to informal networks, social capital includes large, impersonal bureaucratic organizations operating according to the rule of law such as social-security funds, departments of defence and taxcollection agencies.
