«Human potential»: optics of sociology

Abstract

This research offers an overview and interpretation from the sociological standpoint of the discussions around the concept of «human potential» in contemporary science. It is noted that the gradual spread in the scientific literature of the concept of «human potential» (in addition to the more traditional term «human capital») responds to the need to search for new conceptual models describing and explaining the processes of socio-economic development including the role of a human being. Based on bibliometric analysis, we analyze and summarize contemporary discussions taking into account such aspects as the content, mechanisms and effects of human potential. According to the approach proposed in this article, based on current sociological discussions about the «structure-agency» problem, «human potential» includes all the characteristics that were previously considered as components of «human capital», but is not limited to them. In addition, the concept of «human potential» includes other «strategic assets» of a person, which firstly, are not «capital», valuable in the labor market today, but may become it tomorrow (for example, with a change in demand), and secondly, are important not only for production, but also for consumption (for example, the so-called creative consumption, which is becoming an increasingly important type of economic activity), thirdly, allow not only to respond to existing institutional conditions, adapting to them, but also to proactively change the environment, including by creating new markets and niches for the application of their skills. Complementing the models traditional for economic science, as well as relying on the recent elaborations by sociologists and psychologists, the analysis shows the importance of an in-depth understanding of the role of the individual himself, and not just structural conditions, in socioeconomic development in the contemporary world.