Bourdieu Response

Bordieu argues that capital can be expanded beyond just economics, into cultural and social capitals. Cultural capital is essentially elements of identity, such as social class or education, in addition to what an individual owns, and can be broken down into what you have and know. Social capital, on the other hand, is diverged through networks and relationships and boils down to who you know.

Though Bordieu acknowledges the connection that exists between social and cultural capital and economic capital, the extent of this relationship is not stressed enough; one’s cultural capital, especially the family and social class they are born into determine almost every aspect of their life going forward, especially the education they will achieve, which is directly proportional to their economic potential in terms of income and wealth. Modern society is organized in a way that elements of an individual’s identity like race and class predict the opportunities that will be available to them. These attributes, for the most part, are static, as it is difficult or impossible to move between different categories, thus illustrating the advantages that exist for privileged groups, such as whites and rich members of society, contrasted with the severe disadvantage of all marginalized communities in the ability to accumulate all forms of capital.

These predetermined qualities that everyone possesses determine the kinds of people they will interact with (social capital), as it is human nature to stay within one’s own circle, yet this is also intertwined with the people one will encounter based on their cultural capital; social capital expands, for instance, when an individual attends a university, but they will only go to said university if they have the cultural capital to support them in that endeavor. Bordieu’s claim is completely valid in the sense that different kinds of capital exist, but arguably more important is the predetermined nature of all kinds of capital based on the demographics of the home the individual is born into.