Social capital is,
unquestionably, of more value to Australia and those who live here than any
other resource.
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| The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - they have now been joined by a fifth. |
The goodwill we
demonstrate toward others, regardless of who they might be, will benefit people
of this island nation, and by implication Shepparton, more than anything we
might care to point to.
Social capital,
being such an intangible part of society and a concept that escapes traditional
forms of measurement, is considered by pragmatists to be simply pointless
philosophical meanderings.
However, should the
life of an individual, a community or even a whole nation be facing tremulous
times, then people instinctively turn to the well of social capital to sate
their thirst; or need, for the warmth, support, encouragement that only another
can give.
Although a nebulous
and so ill-defined thing, social capital has meanings as numerous as those who
have attempted to define it.
One definition of
social capital declares it is about the value of
social networks that bond similar people and build bridges between diverse
people, with norms of mutuality.
Social capital is
also about sharing information, having trust in others and living a life of
reciprocity, which in colloquial terms means you return a favour, and often the
help given is often simply humane or philanthropic and so not ignited by any
previous actions that warrant re-payment.
The Goulburn Valley was once as xenophobic as most places in
the world, but that intolerance was first softened when Chinese people arrived
in the area about the time of Victoria’s 19th century gold rush, followed
by an surge in the arrival of southern Europeans after the Second World War and
continues with the flood of settlers from Middle Eastern countries and many
from parts of Africa.
The arrival of new people enriches a community’s social
capital and the diversity of Greater Shepparton is such that it is becoming one
of Australia’s richest resources.
Social capital’s arrival in the Goulburn Valley, and
Shepparton and Mooroopna in particular, has been partly organic, becoming a
growth that is orchestrated by a few, but in general is a response by new
arrivals to the tolerance, generosity and support given by those already living
here – that is social capital at work.
The strength and social validity of the community has become
known and so, simply, more people want to live here.
We have generous dollop of social capital, but not for a
second should we assume plain sailing for loitering on the horizon are the “Five” Horsemen of the Apocalypse – energy scarcity,
burgeoning populations, human-induced climate difficulties, the militarization and
fracturing of the world’s economy, and a strange and inexplicable reluctance of
most to consider their behaviour.
Social capital is the only thing that will help us confront,
and move those horsemen on.
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