ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the underpinning meanings and functions of social capital. It highlights its utilitarian function as a social norm, by determining patterns of behaviour from individuals within family, ethnic, religious and national contexts. I argue that society in general creates many normative and unwritten rules, leading to the construction of various subconscious and implicit social contracts that bind individuals together. ‘Memberships’ within the different groups are continuously negotiated and redefined by individuals who, throughout their lives, experience varying and often parallel levels of inclusion and exclusion.
