The
Civil Service' Role In Building Up Our Social Capital
Social
capital is the “soft side” of any democratic country, state or organization. It
includes the informal networks, the accumulated know how, the intangible stuff
that promotes mutual understanding, support and trust among the people. To
explain my point further, I’d like to use the phrase used by Alexis d’
Tocqueville in a book he wrote over 150 years ago called “Democracy in
America”. Alexis d Tocqueville wrote about the “habits of the heart” and how
these make for a strong democracy. He noted that the most important thing a
democratic society must have is what he called the “habits of the heart”. These
refer simply to the things that appeal to peoples’ hearts and sentiments and
thus, help win their trust, loyalty and support.
