Social capital is "good" if personal relations are good

The paper proposes a solution to the problem of predicting the qual-ity of social capital, i.e. whether it consists of bonding connections, or whether it includes bridging connections, which are more favourable to social welfare. Social activities are mainly distinguished between intrin-sically motivated activities, where relational goods are enjoyed for their own sake, and activities morally motivated to comply with social norms. As psychology suggests, intrinsic motivations can be reinforced through individuals ’ experiences, thus making any social connection easier. Moral motivations induce individuals to reinforce mutual connections within the community. The model predicts that the community either tends to an equilibrium where individuals have developed their social ability and enjoy high social capital, or to a Pareto-inferior equilibrium, where individuals are induced to build social capital for the purpose of moral compliance alone