Societal structure, not just individual strategy, shapes personal trust

Evidence

So far as personal trust is concerned, therefore, the foundations of trust in a society are adjusted according to the prospects and conditions for self-presentation and the tactical problems and dangers involved in it. This mechanism transforms societal-structured conditions into sources of trust, which means that it is not to be viewed and understood merely in terms of personal strategies, as it is by Goffman. The individual personality’s system of reference is only one possible area of interest for functional analysis. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 188

Categorization

• XREF: Luhmann explicitly distinguishing himself from Goffman here — useful for positioning the reader’s argument about how institutional/systemic conditions (Darlington Hall’s servant hierarchy) rather than just individual face-work explain Stevens’s trust deficits. — connects to: The trading platform infrastructure itself shapes whether trust relationships emerge — Karin Knorr Cetina & Urs Bruegger, Global Microstructures: The Virtual…, 132; Dense civic networks enable trust, reciprocity and collective action. — Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining…, 17; Social trust and civic engagement co-vary across societies as one underlying factor. — Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining…, 59 (+2 more)