Social capital was invented to explain racial advantage beyond wealth.

Evidence

Economist Glenn C. Loury, one of several independent “inventors” of the concept of social capital, did so to capture the fact that even if the human and financial capital advantages of white Americans were neutralized, their richer connections to mainstream American institutions—their “social capital”—would give them an advantage unavailable even to middle-class members of minority communities. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 2382

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the original race-based motivation behind the concept of social capital, distinct from its later uses.
• XREF: Frames social capital as a mechanism of durable racial privilege even absent present discrimination; echoes claims about structural race. — connects to: Racism was invented to justify economic exploitation, not the reverse — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 1333; Social capital constrains behavior even as it enables it, reducing innovativeness. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 111; Racial ideology functions as a labor discipline for capital (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Social capital constrains behavior even as it enables it, reducing innovativeness. #qualifies (0.80) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 111
• Social capital valuable for one activity can harm others. #qualifies (0.80) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 40
• Racism was invented to justify economic exploitation, not the reverse #qualifies (0.72) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1333
• Racial ideology functions as a labor discipline for capital #qualifies (0.72)