Effective community norms constrain behavior and suppress beneficial innovation
Evidence
A community with strong and effective norms about young persons’ behavior can keep them from “having a good time.” Norms that make it possible to walk alone at night also constrain the activities of criminals (and in some cases of noncriminals as well). Even prescriptive norms that reward certain actions, like the norm in a community that says that a boy who is a good athlete should go out for football, are in effect directing energy away from other activities. Effective norms in an area can reduce innovativeness in an area, not only deviant actions that harm others but also deviant actions that can benefit everyone. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 110
Categorization
- XREF: Directly parallels the reading purpose: the same dense normative closure that lets Sicilian piazzas enforce non-cooperation also suppresses the kind of deviance (testimony, breaking omerta) that would let Bellodi prove his case. This is the dual-edge of social capital against state institutions. — connects to: Closure in social relations is necessary for effective norms to emerge — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 114; Social capital constrains behavior even as it enables it, reducing innovativeness. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 111; Opting out of big-tech tools violates modern social norms — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 538 (+3 more)
Related
- Social capital constrains behavior even as it enables it, reducing innovativeness. (similarity 0.89)
- Social capital is activity-specific and even harmful in some contexts. (similarity 0.86)
- Social capital is productive, structural, and defined by its function. (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Social capital constrains behavior even as it enables it, reducing innovativeness.
#corroborates(0.95) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 111