HOW TRUST WORKS

A social scientist argues that we should trust that the things that bind us are greater than the things that divide us.

Despite the importance of trust in every area of our lives, we rarely think about it deeply. Kim, a professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California, has made it his life’s work, and this book examines the subject from a variety of perspectives. He notes that many societies around the world have become less trusting in the past decades, but in the U.S., distrust has reached epidemic levels. Americans have become prone to believing rumors, gossip, and accusations even when they suspect they are unfounded. Now, the default position, Kim suggests, is to think the worst of anyone outside our inner circles. The reasons appear to be connected to the emphasis that the media, including social media, place on the negative. Kim differentiates between competence distrust, where we do not believe someone is capable of doing what they say they will do; and integrity distrust, where we believe that someone is trying to mislead and damage us. Integrity distrust is the more dangerous, although it is often a matter of perception rather than reality—and this points to possible ways to rebuild trust. The offended person has to accept honest differences and be willing to forgive when no offense is intended. Kim admits that some people are simply not worth trusting, but his point is that most are, and we should be aware of the costs of forever remaining offended. Equally, the offender must be ready to make a genuine apology and make appropriate amends. This change of mindset is not easy, and Kim believes that each person must make that journey for themselves. But it is well worth the effort—and necessary if we hope to escape the distrust trap.

A thoughtful, well-researched study of a “critical foundation” of society.