a store of useful assets or gain,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nthe general theme knitting all these definitions together being that capital is a set of assets or advantages (things of net worth) that promote the accumulation of other assets or advantages of the same or different kinds.\u00a0 So, the commonly held view of capital is correct but limiting.<\/p>\n
Why does it matter how capital is defined?\u00a0 It matters because, as a society, we continuously craft political structures and laws that limit what can be done with one type of capital while allowing other types of capital unfettered reign.\u00a0 We are also in a better position to understand the motivations and the accompanying behavior of others if we can perceive what marketplace they are actually engaged in and what capital they are trying to accumulate.<\/p>\n
In the rest of this post, I am going to explore the two most common types of hidden capital: reputation capital and political capital.<\/p>\n
Reputation Capital<\/h3>\n
How familiar is the following scene?\u00a0 The latest sports news comes on the radio or television and the announcer coolly states that so-and-so has just signed with some-such team for millions of dollars, making him the highest paid player at his position.\u00a0 A friend of yours turns to you and says \u201chow much money does one man need?\u201d\u00a0 Another friend responds by saying something like \u201cIt\u2019s not about the money!\u00a0 He just wants more than the other guys.\u00a0 He just wants to be known as the best player in world.\u201d\u00a0 What the player in question is doing is building reputation capital.<\/p>\n
Alex Rodriguez is a prime example of this.\u00a0 His early success as a baseball player garnered him a reputation as a great ball player.\u00a0 That reputation, in turn, garnered him a chance to play in bigger venues, which in turn grew his reputation.\u00a0 The money was a secondary affair as his fame was really the means to the end.\u00a0 It opened doors for him, the entire country talked about his contract, his lifestyle, and his legacy.<\/p>\n
This is all innocent enough, and A-Rod\u2019s celebrity fame and eventual infamy did not actually shape the economic or political sphere very much.\u00a0 Outside of his influence on America\u2019s pastime and popular culture, his mark will soon disappear.<\/p>\n
Much more interesting and worthy of a skeptical eye are the so-called \u2018paragons\u2019 of society in whom is invested a lot of trust.\u00a0 Journalists and scientists fall squarely into these categories.<\/p>\n
Take the recent fall from grace of NBC\u2019s pride and joy, Brian Williams.\u00a0 Whether you call his fabrications exaggerations or outright lies, it is clear that he has played fast and loose with the truth.\u00a0 But why did he do it?\u00a0 I think his behavior is best explained by the model that he was trying to build his reputation as a gritty journalist.\u00a0 His fantasies related to his time in Iraq or his encounters with dead corpses and armed gun men in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were meant to build capital with his viewers.\u00a0 He intended his audience to regard him as an objective journalist who would back down before nothing and no one.\u00a0 From such a position, he wielded great power and basked in the adoration of fans and the admiration of his colleagues.\u00a0 He achieved assets and advantages that mere money could not buy.<\/p>\n
University professors and academics engage in their own unique marketplace.\u00a0 They are first and foremost tradesmen whose primary focus is to sell their ideas to each other and to society as a whole.\u00a0 Journal articles, published books, and television and radio appearances are their currency, and their academic reputations are their capital.\u00a0 Their wealth is measured in terms of the number of times their article is cited by peers, or how many of copies of their book were sold, or how many tweets and postings their TV appearance generated. \u00a0As their reputation grows, so does their power, even though very little in the way of money changes hands.<\/p>\n
Political Capital<\/h3>\n
No matter where you work or volunteer, there are always a few people who are at the center of the institution.\u00a0 These are the people who get things done by pulling strings, facilitating compromises, and horse-trading between one group and another.\u00a0 These people engage in the marketplace of political capital, and the favors they give and receive are the currency.\u00a0 They hold and wield power in the institution, and the larger the institution the greater the power, political capitalists in governmental positions being the most influential.<\/p>\n
Political capitalists in government fall into two classes depending on whether they are elected or appointed and in the public eye (e.g., John Boehner or Samuel Alito), or they are far removed from general scrutiny (e.g., the head of the EPA).\u00a0 In both cases, even though their assets and advantages are never translated into a monetary value, these people are able to buy and sell for goods and services just the same.\u00a0 The public only thinks about this marketplace when an elected official grossly abuses their capital, as in the case of Bob McDonald, who was recently convicted of corruption for \u2018selling access\u2019 to his political capital in exchange for financial compensation.\u00a0 In other words, the public doesn\u2019t seem to care when the bartering is done strictly in terms of political favors \u2013 even though such bartering may lead to material gain on all sides \u2013 but only seems sensitized when political capital is turned into cash directly.<\/p>\n
Regulating Marketplaces<\/h3>\n
As I alluded to above, the major reason to care about how capital is defined is to level the playing field when it comes to how different types of capital are accumulated, spent, or exchanged.\u00a0 As a society, we tend to regulate and focus on financial or monetary capital and ignore reputation and political capital.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not objecting to the capitalists that trade in either of these marketplaces, nor am I objecting to their accumulation of assets and advantages.\u00a0 I do object to the thoughtless position that fears the business man and his accumulated financial wealth but embraces the celebrity and his dominating reputation.\u00a0 I\u2019m against laws that limit the modes of speech and the exchanges of ideas because they are purchased by money but leaves unfettered the speech and exchange of ideas that are bought through political favoritism.\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand why society is willing to be suspicious of one and not the others.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m skeptical across the board.\u00a0 The accumulation of capital is not a bad thing, in and of itself, and I am willing to give the person who has acquired any type of capital the benefit of the doubt that he has earned it.\u00a0 But the use of that capital is no less corrupting if it is based on reputation or political connections than if it is based on cold hard cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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