Managerial discourse of «human capital»

Abstract

Modern science and practice widely uses the concept of «human capital» when discussing both the general strategic tasks of transforming an industrial civilization on the way to the formation of a post-industrial, information society, and practical guidelines for the growth of a post-industrial economy, current social transformations and social management systems, corresponding to these general tasks. A broad interdisciplinary managerial discourse of human capital concerns all these areas. The issues of the human capital development index and quality of life indicators are paid special attention to. At the same time, practical functioning of the concept “human capital” and ambiguities in attempts to reflect it cause many problematic situations. Accordingly, the author of the article considers the philosophical and methodological reflection of the «human capital» concept no less relevant. In the context of dialectic of the historical and logical, tradition and innovation, the logic of «transitive» transition, transdisciplinary approach, philosophical and linguistic analysis, etc., the author joins the established interdisciplinary discourse of human capital and stresses the importance of clarifying the essential meanings of the linguistic construct «human capital». Analysis of logic of its historical formation and correlation with the concepts of “man”, “human integrity”, “human potential”, “labor resource”, etc., fixed in the scientific thesaurus, allow us raise questions of clarifying the scientific status and subject boundaries of this concept, which is the sphere of economy. According to the author when the concept of «human capital» is beyond its limits, it acquires the status of a metaphor or an oxymoron. This is evidenced by both the discourse positions and the existential risks of its scientific use in humanitarian sphere.