Trust

Trust and Governance

In contrast to trust in interpersonal relationships, trust in political contexts is often impersonal and characterized by conflicting interests. Trust can be divided into two levels: the microlevel, as seen in personal and immediate relationships, or the macrolevel, where trust exists between distant strangers or between people and institutions. Trust in governance exists on the macrolevel in relationships between citizens and governmental representatives, institutions, and systems. Many theorists suggest that citizens must have a certain level of trust in government in order for that government to be legitimate and reliably continue to function. Trust, rather than first-hand contact and monitoring, tends to connect citizens to many public, private, and civil institutions. Trust requires faith in the operating of just institutional processes and in the ethical personal action on the part of representatives and administrators. Trust can also be invested in citizens by their government, by allowing citizens the maximum amount of freedom possible.

Trust and Power Relationships

Many theorists hold that asymmetrical power relationships tend to breed mistrust. Histories of past abuse in relationships, whether interpersonal or institutional, can reduce the level of future trust. Cultural differences also influence how much trust citizens have in political institutions. Distrust in political systems is not always unfounded or a negative phenomenon. Differences in power make trust more risky for less-powerful parties in a society. The source of political trust on the part of elites may be based on the privilege that they gain from the political system, and the distrust on the part of the others can be the result of being disadvantaged by the same system. Distrust in this case can form the basis for political resistance by excluded people and groups.

One example of how trust and distrust can be exemplified is in the prisoner's dilemma. This dilemma illustrates the difficulty of trust, and therefore cooperation, between two self-interested actors. Each actor will gain advantage if the two cooperate, but the worst-case scenario is to act on trust but be disappointed by the action of the other party. Unless each actor is assured of mutual benefit, or is assured of sanction for the other party's lack of cooperation, trust is impossible. There are some possible problems with the prisoner's dilemma as a model of trust. First, it assumes that the ideal relationship of trust is a relationship where parties are equal in power; however, this ideal excludes relationships of necessary dependence, such as between a parent and child or between a patient and a doctor. Second, some theorists would hold that trust is not a rational choice based on self-interest, but is a moral principle that we should act on regardless of what we get in return.

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