In American society people are told from an early age that they will get an education and then use their education to find gainful employment. Small children dream of being fireman and astronauts and all sorts of extraordinary professions. The problem is that this American Dream, the idea you can be anything you want to be tends to be a lie.
No matter how many education accreditations one obtains in America they are not guaranteed the acquisition of a position as an astronaut or fireman. In fact it is more likely for you to become an astronaut if your father is a bureaucrat in NASA or a fireman if your Uncle has been in the department for 15 years than merely having a PhD in Astrophysics.
Social Capital is a concept which evaluates the value of ones social ties and social networks and how those connections can be used to achieve employment among other things. I currently work at a government agency in which my mother was formerly employed. Working for the government is something that many people desire, but machines do not make hiring decisions people make them. Would I be employed by the Government if it was not for family connections, maybe so, maybe not, but nonetheless connections certainly did not hurt my chances.
There is a problem with social capital, especially in a society that is supposed to be based on equality because social capital is more often than not inherited instead of earned through merit. People obtain employment because of family relations not connections they made in life. The question has to become how society moves away from social capital overriding merit when people try to attain employment
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