Skinny latté ideology

Without sounding melodramatic JD Woods could well be writing those tactless words as an observation of Indigenous communities in parts of Australia today.

However, and in light of the above observation, I do believe many of our mob are doing themselves a disservice by routinely singing the “poor bugger me” tune while proportioning blame to non-Indigenous people for their insufferably slow progress in gaining social and economic parity.

The concept I would like to discuss today is social capital and it is through the application of its processes that I believe Indigenous Australians can realise their economic and social worth.

Social capital has been interpreted as the social networks, norms and trust that enable people to act together effectively in the pursuit of shared objectives.

This shouldn't be a difficult concept to master; after all it is exactly what Indigenous Australians did, caring and sharing, before passengers of the First Fleet imposed their will on the Eora people on Gadigal land back in 1788.

Putnam has advocated strongly for the need for more social capital in American society, particularly for the poor. He describes social capital as:

... the social ties that engender civil society, particularly if these ties are conjoined with trust and norms of reciprocity. These ties form a type of “capital” enabling people to do things more effectively than if they were not connected to these relationships.

Baker argues the "social" in social capital emphasises that these resources are not personal assets: no single person owns them.

The resources reside in networks of relationships. If you think of human capital as what you know (the sum of your own knowledge, skills and expertise), then access to social capital depends on who you know - the size, quality, and diversity of your personal and business networks. But beyond that, social capital also depends on who you don't know, and if you are indirectly connected to them via your networks.

Woolcock identifies three basic components to social capital:

• bonding social capital (that is, links among people who are like one another), which is important for "getting by";
• bridging social capital (that is, links among people who are unlike one another), which is crucial for "getting ahead"; and
• linking social capital (that is, vertical links to people in positions of authority), which plays a special role in development and poverty alleviation.

Maybe the time is now right for Indigenous Australians to take charge of their own life and develop strategic plans along the lines of the social capital paradigm so their children and grandchildren can gain future benefits from the networks established today through family, culture, education, business and political ties.

This is a cost neutral exercise with next to no reliance from government, and definitely not from public servants, for successful outcomes to be occur.

If you work at it in a strategic manner over a long period of time you will achieve personal and family success.