Bourdieu believes that economics and the societal impact economics has is due to the production and movement of capital. He sees it as a type of game, a kind of win/lose situation. The players are people within an economic system and some players have an advantage due to higher economic influence or status. In order to maximize profits, one must be self interested according to Bourdieu. Any economic exchanges that you do that don’t get paid for are considered self “disinterested”. He also argues there are three types of capital: economic capital, cultural capital and social capital. Economic capital are goods and services that provide money to oneself or society. Cultural capital is something that is produced by a culture such as pictures, books, dictionaries, instruments, etc. Social capital is the power or influence one has over others. Arguably, all three types of capital can be inherited, passed down from generation to generation. This is the easiest way to gain capital because you did not have to work to generate any of it.
Others can also “inherit” or appropriate cultural capital. People are often able to purchase cultural artifacts, no matter their ethnic heritage. This can be a problem because the lines of cultural artifact and valuable capital blur into one. The greater the importance of the artifact, the higher the price however, it begs a question: can one really put a dollar amount to the cultural importance an item has to a community?
Olive's Blog 