「社會資本」的理論定位與經驗意義：以戰後台灣社會變遷為例

Abstract

「社會資本」近年來已成為應用最廣的概念之一，本文擬由回顧古典與當代理論的關連性出發，重新找尋社會資本的理論定位，並透過經驗資料的詮釋，賦予其更妥當的意義。本文發現，歷來學界傾向以「網絡」、「信任」與「規範」作為「社會資本」的核心要素，並嘗試建立可供測量的操作性定義，這種作法雖可使有關「社會資本」的實證研究加速進行，卻也不免讓這個具有豐富內涵的理念帶有高度「實體化」乃至「物化」的色彩，無法窮盡其理論性的穿透力與解釋力。有鑑於此，本文主張將「社會資本」理解為「持續建構與再建構的社會關係，透過這層社會關係，有助於將個人自利的行為，聯結到社會的共同利益，從而減少個人及集體的風險」；因此，「社會資本」能夠促進現代社會的「自我組織」機制，強化各種結社活動，有別於傳統的「私人關係」。在建構起「社會資本」的理念型之後，本文接著思索：若將「社會資本」概念放到台灣的社會─歷史脈絡中，可以帶來什麼樣的啟示？經由對於中央研究院「社會變遷基本調查」以及其他統計資料與學術報告的分析，本文認為，近幾十年來台灣社會變遷中，除了來自經濟領域中社會交往型態的變化、從而構成社會資本的初步積累，其實還具有更為深遠的意涵。要之，解嚴之後以「社會力」面貌呈現的「自我組織」範圍不斷擴大，「信任」機制的內涵亦有所變化，由「個人信任」朝向更制度化的「公共信任」移動。此一現象，意味著台灣「社會資本」的「活化」，而台灣社會的結社活動與志願參與，實可視作是「社會資本」生成、流通、累積、集中的主要場域，也為民主政治的運作奠下了基石。總括而言，台灣近十幾年來的社會變遷過程，在「社會資本」理論視野的觀照下，突顯了相當不同的社會意義。 The concept of “social capital,” often referring to the network, trust and norm that connect citizens with each other, has become one of the most popular research topics in the field of social science in recent years. This paper attempts to re-examine the concept of “social capital” from the theoretical and the empirical aspects, with a view to improving its power of penetration and explanation. First of all, this paper re-defines “social capital” as “a kind of social solidarity, which facilitate trust and cooperation with the consequence of public benefit and reduce individual or collective risk because such solidarity could bridge the gap between self-interest and public welfare.” Next, this paper considers that “social capital” should be seen as a kind of transformed social relationship beyond the traditional private circle, so that the mechanism of self-organization could be improved and the activities of association in modern society be strengthened. In the third part of this paper, an application of this theoretical framework to Taiwan’s society is analyzed. Based on various sources of data, mainly the “Taiwan Social Change Survey” conducted by the Academic Sinica (Taipei), this paper examines the changing role of “social forces” in Taiwan’s society and its implications for the development of social capital. It is suggested that, besides the accumulation of trust in the economic field, the most significant change has occurred in the field of social participation, which has reflected in the increased number of association since the lift of martial law in 1987. An analysis of this paper has also shown that the content of trust has been shifted from “personal trust” to “public trust” within this period, and the practice of civic engagement has not only produced social capital, but also made democracy work in Taiwan.