Social Support, Social Justice, and Social Capital: A Tentative Theoretical Triad for Community Development

Despite a lack of agreed theoretical foundation for community, this paper explores three social theories which may have resonance for community development. Social support relates to the capacity of a community to informally and formally sustain its membership, is a buffer to stress and applies both in everyday living and in times of crises. Social justice theory advances the desire of a community to uphold and endow the rights of all its members on the basis of equity. Social capital relates to the process by which social support is enabled and social justice can be demonstrated. It is considered in terms of bonding capital or communities capacity to 'get by' and as bridging capital which relates to its ability to 'get ahead. 'A tentative conceptual model is then constructed to illustrate the relationship between this triad as a composite which may add to our understanding of communities as a construct and how best they can be developed.