Editing Social capital (section)

== Positive consequences of social capital ==
Compared to Bourdieu, [[Robert D. Putnam]] has used the concept in a much more positive light: though he was at first careful to argue that social capital was a neutral term, stating "whether or not [the] shared are praiseworthy is, of course, entirely another matter,"<ref name="Edwards 1997" /> his work on American society tends to frame social capital as a producer of "[[civic engagement]]" and also a broad societal measure of communal health.<ref name="Alessandrini 2002">Alessandrini, M. (2002). ''Is Civil Society an Adequate Theory?''</ref> He also transforms social capital from a resource possessed by individuals to an attribute of collectives, focusing on norms and trust as producers of social capital to the exclusion of networks.

Mahyar Arefi (2003) identifies consensus-building as a direct positive indicator of social capital.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arefi|first1=M|year=2003|title=Revisiting the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI): Lessons for Planners|journal=Journal of Planning Education and Research|volume=22|issue=4|page=384|doi=10.1177/0739456x03022004005|s2cid=144987586}}</ref> Consensus implies "shared interest" and agreement among various actors and stakeholders to induce collective action. ''[[Collective action]]'' is thus an indicator of increased social capital.