Trust

My last post leads to this one. I was reading a book and the author brought up the issue of trust and how lack of trust increases overhead in both business and social situations. Lack of trust actually hinders the forward progress of human development because when you can't trust anybody there is no sharing of ideas so little or no growth in technology. When you can't trust then stress caused by the difficulties of daily living causes breakdowns in social behavior.

The self centered behavior I mentioned yesterday causes lack of trust. If you borrow your neighbors lawn mower and are indifferent about returning it you probably won't be able to borrow it in the future, with good reason. I am seeing a trend towards self centered behavior and with it a break down in general trust. Relationships are failing because of affairs, which of course is a self centered behavior. Sporting events that were intended to aid in the development of children are failing in their intent because every parent wants their child to be the star.

I am rather disappointed that more people (and businesses) don't understand that breaking a trust is self-defeating. When a business gives it's stockholders a bonus instead of it's employees it gains a short term benefit at the cost of trust with it's employees. When a person cheats on their spouse they lose not only that relationship but will be less trusted by others who hear about their infidelity. The people who cause the loss of trust are affected but the people they cheat are less likely to trust others, which creates issues with society. So everyone loses.