Contracting, not trust, brings the future into the present

Evidence

As against this, there is the future orientation of trust. Trust is only possible in a familiar world; it needs history as a reliable background. One cannot confer trust without this essential basis and without all previous experiences. But rather than being just an inference from the past, trust goes beyond the information it derives from the past and takes the risk of defining the future. The complexity of the future world is reduced by the act of trust. In trusting, one engages in action as though there were only certain possibilities in the future. One fixes one’s present future to a future present. In this way one offers other people a determinate future, a common future, which is not readily apparent from the past. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 138 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Trust functions by pruning the over-complex future to fit the present; Trust reduces future complexity by committing to a determinate future — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 138; Trust is a result rather than a precondition of cooperation — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2781 (+12 more)

Related

• Trust reduces future complexity by committing to a determinate future (similarity 0.89)
• Trust is a theory about another’s future performance based on their claims (similarity 0.88)
• Trust functions by pruning the over-complex future to fit the present (similarity 0.87)
• Overt risk calculation in contracts can undercut the trust it formalizes (similarity 0.87)
• Trust reduces future complexity where instrumental mastery cannot (similarity 0.86)
• Trust anchors future uncertainty back into the present (similarity 0.86)
• Trust reduces social complexity by replacing missing information with guaranteed security (similarity 0.86)
• Trust reduces the overwhelming complexity of the future to fit the present (similarity 0.86)
• Building mutual trust requires confronting risk rather than avoiding it (similarity 0.86)
• Trust functions by treating the uncertain future as if it were certain. (similarity 0.85)
• Trust stabilizes decision-making by pruning an over-complex future down to the present (similarity 0.83)
• Trust itself does not secure the future; the act of turning it over does. (similarity 0.83)
• Trusting always exceeds available evidence; reasons for trust are retrospective self-justification (similarity 0.82)
• Trust reduces the truster’s complexity while transferring that burden onto the trusted (similarity 0.82)
• Trust is an advance payment that expands rationality by easing complexity constraints. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Trust reduces future complexity by committing to a determinate future #contradicts (0.85) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 138
• Overt risk calculation in contracts can undercut the trust it formalizes #corroborates (0.85)
• Trustworthiness enforced only by contract threats is not genuine trust #qualifies (0.80)
• Trust expands a system’s complexity potential and buys it time #contradicts (0.80)
• Trust functions by pruning the over-complex future to fit the present #qualifies (0.75)
• Trust is a result rather than a precondition of cooperation #qualifies (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2781
• Trust is a theory about another’s future performance based on their claims #qualifies (0.75)
• Trust is a fragile coping device for ignorance about others’ future behavior #qualifies (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2719
• Technology increases rather than eliminates the need for trust #qualifies (0.72) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 130
• Building mutual trust requires confronting risk rather than avoiding it #qualifies (0.72)