Should Parents Be Able to Use Their Wealth to Improve Their Childrens Social Capital - Essay Example

Parents have been known to use their wealth to gain social capital for their children over the years through various ways such as donating large amounts of funds to the school that their children attend among others. The question remains however whether this is right or wrong and should be acceptable within society. The answer to this can be derived from looking at the pros and cons of this subject.

Pros
Several arguments can be used to defend this act. One of them is the fact that by attaining this social capital for their children, the parents are ensuring a better future for them as they are guaranteed help with the trials they may face in the future (Putnam, 2006). Ensuring a better future for one’s offspring can be considered to be the right of every parent and is expected of them. Another pro is that the social capital gained by these children technically does not hurt anyone although it may give them an advantage over others in certain situations, it is not against the law to cultivate relationships that will be beneficial to an individual (McNamee & Miller, 2009).

Cons
As there are two sides to every coin, there are also cons to assisting one’s child in gaining social capital. The main con can be considered to be the fact that by doing this, the child will not learn essential values such as the importance of independence and the virtue of hard work as they will not have to struggle for the things that they want (Doob, 2013). This can be considered to be a sort of negative education on the part of the parent as it does not help in building up a child’s character.

Another con is found in the fact that by teaching a child that what they want can be achieved by money, they risk instilling a devious/delinquent attitude within the child as they are aware that the social capital gained will get them out of trouble (Brown & Iyengar, 2008). For example, a child may end up constantly breaking the law because they know that they will be able to get out of any trouble they make thanks to the influence of their parents over various individuals. By gaining this social capital the easy way (that is, through their parent's wealth) they will not know its value or be intent on maintaining it as would other people.

Conclusion
Though parents may be able to use their wealth to gain social capital for their children, it should not be an everyday practice. Helping one’s child is not a bad thing as long as the type of help offered will not end up having a negative influence on the child in the end. Read More