In Making Democracy Work Robert Putnam uses his description of the concept of “social capital” to directly investigate the successes and failures of democratic governments, based on his case study of regional politics governments in Italy. This essay will serve to describe this theory of “social capital”, and whether or not it is applicable to all situations within the government of Italy and its regions. I will then show the limitations of the theory by using contradictory evidence from his work to describe issues facing the South. I will then discuss how Robert Dahl's theory of inequality of political resources, in Who Governs, can answer the question of whether the theory of “social capital ” whether or not it successfully explains the conditions for a responsive and effective democracy.II. Definition of “social capital” The theory of social capital, as defined by Putnam, is the one that is proposed again and again in political science, albeit under different names. Putnam's definition, however, is based more on empirical evidence than on theoretical data. At a basic level, social capital is best defined as an indicator for measuring mutual cooperation between the electorate and its government. The theory encapsulates the networks created by civilians and the government, mutual aid, cooperation and mutual reciprocity between the two parties. The “common good” here is a prevalent aspect of the theory itself. A high level of this social capital indicates high levels of government participation by the country's citizens and, consequently, more effective governance through accountability and vice versa. A low level of social capital consequently means the opposite; mutual distrust, disengagement from political life and low levels of go...... half of the paper ......the conclusions reached in the passage on the paradigm shift in the South may constitute a rather radical departure from the theories reached by Putnam, Dahl's introduction seems to remedy the problems faced by the South in a more pragmatic way. The introduction of this political entrepreneur, at a relatively basic level, could remedy the problems of government failure and lack of social capital. Putnam's theory of social capital would connect to this because citizens would finally be able to have an accessible leader who knows how to trade between the vested interests of local elites and those of citizens, and thus increase their importance in society. In this sense, the political entrepreneur may be able to reverse the vicious circle of social capital experienced by Southern Italy, and start the path towards a responsible and effective democracy..