做為社會資本理論的核心概念，社會網絡與社會信任二者是否能對民主政治產生正面的影響？已成為近年學界所爭論的焦點。本文利用「東亞民主動態調查」實證資料，主要研究問題有二：一、社會資本在我國分佈的情形為何？二、社會資本對民主政治會產生何種影響？就第一個問題而言，研究發現，參與正式與非正式網絡的受訪者約各占三成與三成七。其次，網絡類型以社會宗教團體與閒話家常所占比例最高，政治團體以及在商業或金錢來往類型居末。另外，在社會信任部分，證據也顯示，台灣人民對一般大眾持不信任與信任的比例，分別約為六成以及四成。至於第二個問題，有關社會資本對於民主政治的影響則不一。社會網絡數量對內在效能感、政治知識、政治參與具正相關；社會網絡類型則對民主支持度、內在效能感、政治參與呈現統計上的顯著效果。最後，社會信任無論在納入網絡數量或類型的模型中，皆對提昇民主支持度、外在政治效能感有正面助益。 How social capital shapes democracy has become a core issue in recent years. This study attempts to answer two questions: (1) how much social capital does Taiwan have and (2) how does social capital influence Taiwan's democracy? There are several findings. First, merely 30% and 37% of the population participate in formal and informal civil society groups respectively. Second, the rates of social trust and distrust are around 40% and 60% respectively. Third, social capital shows varying effects on independent variables. The number of social networks is positively correlated with internal political efficiency, political knowledge, and political participation. The type of social network on the other hand is related to support for democracy, internal political efficiency, and political participation. Finally, social trust significantly increases people's support for democracy and increases external political efficiency. In conclusion, we find that social capital is beneficial to democracy in Taiwan. This study suggests that variables concerning social capital should be added into national surveys. By doing so, political scientists will have more opportunities to explore issues of social capital and quantitative methods can be more fruitfully applied in this area.
關聯:
東吳政治學報=Soochow Journal of Political Science 26(2)，頁39-83
