In simple societies distrust is itself punished as a breach of law.

Evidence

If there is a swing from trust to distrust – and the same is true in the rarer reverse case – then the distruster adapts his behaviour to this new pattern of expectation and thus makes his change of attitude socially apparent. Distrust is made manifest by distrustful behaviour. Interpersonal behaviour is not a matter merely of ad hoc experience but something interpreted in terms of underlying ‘attitudes’, and used for the formation of expectations. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 271 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Being distrusted relieves a person of moral obligation and breeds reciprocal distrust. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 272; Distrust is a self-reinforcing, self-fulfilling social dynamic.; Systems that need distrust must also neutralize it to survive. (+3 more)

Related

• Distrust becomes socially visible through distrustful behavior (similarity 0.90)
• Being distrusted relieves a person of moral obligation and breeds reciprocal distrust. (similarity 0.89)
• Distrust is a self-reinforcing, self-fulfilling social dynamic. (similarity 0.88)
• Misplaced trust costs far more than forgone trust, making distrust come more quickly (similarity 0.83)
• Social systems need mechanisms that neutralize distrust without eliminating it. (similarity 0.83)
• Distrust strategies can become autonomous habitual routines (similarity 0.83)
• Distrust is self-fulfilling and cannot be invalidated by experience (similarity 0.82)
• Justified distrust can be a moral act and so trust is not inherently moral (similarity 0.82)
• The mere feeling of being observed shifts behavior from selfish to reciprocal norms (similarity 0.82)
• Systems that need distrust must also neutralize it to survive. (similarity 0.82)
• Distrust functions as an equivalent alternative to trust (similarity 0.81)
• Organizations require the truster to retain a modicum of distrust (similarity 0.81)
• Trust and law evolved from a common root into differentiated mechanisms (similarity 0.79)
• Distrust arises from inconsistency or symbolic discrediting of trust (similarity 0.79)
• Suspicion of others’ trustworthiness is inherently well grounded (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Distrust is a self-reinforcing, self-fulfilling social dynamic. #responds-to (0.40)
• Distrust becomes socially visible through distrustful behavior #corroborates (0.35) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 271
• Systems that need distrust must also neutralize it to survive. #expands (0.30)
• Potential to sanction breaches is the strongest basis for trusting another. #responds-to (0.30)