Where the Concept of Capital Comes From—and Why It Still Matters
The idea of “capital” didn’t start in marketing or business.
It came from a French sociologist named Pierre Bourdieu.
He wanted to understand why some people rise and others don’t—even when they work just as hard, or are just as talented.
What he discovered is simple, but powerful:
Power isn’t just about money. It’s about what you bring into a room—and how others read it.
The Three Capitals (Bourdieu’s Terms)
- Economic Capital
- Social Capital
- Cultural Capital
– Money, assets, material wealth.
– Relationships, networks, influence.
– Education, credentials, language, and social “refinement.”
Bourdieu showed how these forms of capital shape your access to everything: jobs, credibility, safety, visibility, and voice.
Why It’s Still True Today
Most modern systems—academia, publishing, tech, nonprofits—still reward the same things Bourdieu described:
- People who already have wealth
- People who already know the right people
- People who speak the “right” way
So if you’re starting without those things, it’s not just harder—
it’s structurally uphill.
What Bourdieu Helps Us Name
- That injustice isn’t always loud—it’s often polite and invisible
- That “merit” is often just capital dressed up as talent
- That structural exclusion can feel like personal failure—if you don’t know the system is rigged
Naming this isn’t about giving up.
It’s about seeing clearly.
So we stop waiting to be accepted, and start creating what needs to exist.
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