Capacity-based trust would make Nixon one of America’s most trusted presidents

Evidence

If capacity is the measure of trust, we might have to say we trusted Richard Nixon more than most presidents, but that seems to be a quite unlikely claim in the vernacular. Perhaps Europeans, who were not subject to Nixon’s tax audits, FBI investigations, and election shenanigans, could give most weight to his capacities in attempting to reduce the scale of international conflict in at least his China policies. Many Americans would not so easily have slighted the political abuses, which seemed to be driven not by concern with his better policies but by personal paranoia. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 776

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• CANDY: The reductio ad absurdum that capacity-trust would crown Nixon a most-trusted president is a neat, conversation-ready paradox.