Trust is at the heart of collective action. Collective action is at the hart of human civilization. Humans have been able to conquer the world because hey have been able to act collectively, building on trust.
Trust is the fabric of society.
Farmers plant seeds if they trust the information that seeds will indeed produce crops and their crops will not be taken by their neighbors before they harvest them themselves.
Partners raise kids because they trust they will support each other. Marriage allows partners to use a public institution to strengthen trust in each other.
Consumers order goods on the internet because they trust the company will delivery the ordered goods and replace them if broken. Consumer ratings on web portals and guarantees backed by those portals provide assurance that trust is justified.
Banks give credit to consumers and companies because they trust that they will pay back the loan. The credit rating is a key tool to establish reputation of the borrower and allow the lender to establish trust.
Individuals are willing to step into a stranger’s car because they trust that the platform (Uber/Lyft/Grab/GoJek/…) vet the drivers to ensure they are trustworthy.
People are taking the necessary action for protection from disease, such as wearing masks, social distancing etc., because they trust the guidance from government and the information from media and therefore prevent the spread of disease.
Citizens vote for politicians who they trust will represent their interest and their views in public policy making. Political parties serve in many countries to discipline politicians and thus protect the trust of voters.
Citizens vote for politicians based on the information they receive from media they trust because those media have over time built a reputation of disseminating trusted information and news.
Countries agree to cut carbon emissions because they trust that other countries cut their emissions well achieving the desired reduction in global warming. Global treaties such as the Paris Agreement and the related monitoring and reporting mechanism bolster the trust needed to make each participant country comply with its obligations.
Countries live in peace with each other because they trust that others will respect and obey their borders.
But if trust breaks down or manipulation leads to trust placed wrongly, people suffer.
Broken trust in a personal relationships leads to profound human suffering.
Lack of trust because of absence of credit rating and similar tools means poor entrepreneurs don’t receive credit and cannot grow their businesses.
False trust in fake news or manipulation let to voters make choices that lead to bad public policies and deeply harm the voters’ own interests.
Mistrust between nations has led and still leads to huge and wasteful military expenditures and sometimes devastating wars.
Lack of trust in the action of other nations means no progress in tackling global challenges such as global warming or pandemic risks.