Legitimate government conceives power as a mutually observed trust

Evidence

In legitimate political societies, accordingly, governmental power is in fact conceived both by rulers and ruled as a trust and (with whatever modifications are due for the moral and cognitive limitations of both rulers and subjects) the psychic relation between rulers and ruled can also consequently aspire to be one of trust: confidence, the giving and receiving of clear, veridical, and carefully observed mutual understandings, a relation of trust deservedly received and trust rationally and freely accorded. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1182

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Locke’s trust as ‘clear, veridical, and carefully observed mutual understandings’ — observability is built directly into the definition.
• XREF: ‘Carefully observed mutual understandings’ is the Luhmann observational substrate — when sight fails (Saramago), veridical mutual understanding collapses. — connects to: Democratic legitimacy depends on citizens’ internalized commitment that imposed systems cannot replace — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 74; Trust is the juridical presupposition under which mandate powers ruled — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 89; A republic’s stability rests on assurance that all will respect shared rules. — Adelin-Costin Dumitru, Forging the Resistive Republic: Social…, 18 (+4 more)