Social capital as an idea was independently reinvented six times across the twentieth century.

Evidence

The term social capital itself turns out to have been independently invented at least six times over the twentieth century, each time to call attention to the ways in which our lives are made more productive by social ties. The first known use of the concept was not by some cloistered theoretician, but by a practical reformer of the Progressive Era—L. J. Hanifan, state supervisor of rural schools in West Virginia. Writing in 1916 to urge the importance of community involvement for successful schools, Hanifan invoked the idea of “social capital” to explain why. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 35

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes that ‘social capital’ has no single authoritative inventor but multiple convergent coinages, all emphasizing productivity of social ties.
• XREF: connects to: The social capital idea vanished after 1916 until independent rediscoveries began in the 1950s. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 37

Broader Connections

• The social capital idea vanished after 1916 until independent rediscoveries began in the 1950s. #expands (0.92) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 37