Development of the Social Value Stock

This chapter highlights the analysis of the Total Social Value Stock (TSVS) and its transformations at the individual level and collective level to enable the clinical sociologist to understand the opportunities and constraints in terms of problem-solving or the development process. This analysis is an essential tool for evaluating a social development policy. The specific focus of this analysis centers on social, cultural, and human capital as developed more by contemporary sociological thinking. This analysis helps to understand how individuals in a vulnerable community bring together every stakeholder involved in the process of social development and how these forms of accumulated value can work synergistically. It is only relatively recently that clinical and applied sociology has shown interest in the problem-solving aspect of caring and the development of various forms of capital beyond the economic capital that stakeholders must possess. This dimension, however, is proving central following specific knowledge that the absence of social and cultural capital is correlated with the underdevelopment and marginalization of social groups. Additionally, the chapter presents some methods for studying and recording the TSVS. Finally, the chapter will present examples of the applications of the capital model in Greece and internationally, particularly, in developing countries.