Producing Social Capital: National Social Movements and Civil Society

Abstract

This article analyzes the conceptual treatment of national social movement organizations (SMOs) in current debates over civil society and the decline of social capital in the United States. Despite the rapid growth of national organizations since the 1960s, civil society proponents systematically dismiss their relevance. The author argues instead that national SMOs play a critical role in civil society and the production of social capital by providing an infrastructure for collective action, facilitating the development of mediated collective identities that link otherwise marginalized members of society, and shaping public discourse and debate. Theories that exclude this form of citizen participation not only overlook the important ways that social capital and collective identity are constructed by national organizations, but they ultimately promote the continued marginalization of less powerful social groups.