Functional trust theory requires a society that can institutionalize reflexive trust.

Evidence

Conversely, a functional theory of trust, such as is here being attempted, is only meaningful if, and in so far as, a social order is in a position to make trust in reflected presentations psychologically possible and, in social terms, to institutionalize it. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 239

Categorization

• QUESTION: Does a society that fails to institutionalize reflexive trust (e.g. prewar England’s gentlemanly codes) invalidate the theory’s applicability to Stevens — or merely the theory’s reach?