ESCAPE FROM POLITICS - SOCIAL-THEORY AND THE SOCIAL CAPITAL DEBATE

This article sets the stage for the discussion of social capital, civi l society, and contemporary democracy by attempting to clarify terms a nd set out the most promising avenues for discussion and debate. The a uthors argue that current usage of key terms in the debate suffers fro m three faults: First, the notion of ''social capital'' is generally u ndertheorized and oversimplified. Second, popular usage and some schol arly accounts tend to suppress the conflictive character of civil soci ety, seeking in society itself and in its inner workings the resolutio n of conflicts that politics and the political system in other underst andings are charged with settling or suppressing. Third, these (mis)un derstandings conjoin in the suppression of the economic dimension of c ontemporary social conflict. This introductory article takes up the fi rst two of these points, in an effort to lay out the theoretical and e mpirical questions that the subsequent articles address.