Survey ‘trust in government’ reduces to confidence, not interpersonal trust

Evidence

Where trust is involved, in Luhmann’s view, alternatives are consciously borne in mind by the individual in deciding to follow a particular course of action. Someone who buys a used car, instead of a new one, risks purchasing a dud. He or she places trust in the salesperson or the reputation of the firm to try to avoid this occurrence. Thus, an individual who does not consider alternatives is in a situation of confidence, whereas someone who does recognise those alternatives and tries to counter the risks thus acknowledged, engages in trust. In a situation of confidence, a person reacts to disappointment by blaming others; in circumstances of trust she or he must partly shoulder the blame and may regret having placed trust in someone or something. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 81 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Trust in government is really quasi-trust or confidence, not trust — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 703; Declining trust in government reflects trustworthiness, not citizen psychology — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 732; Ungrounded faith in government benefits the powerful, not the faithful (+5 more)

Related

• Trusting a government is not analogous to trusting another person. (similarity 0.92)
• Trust in government is really quasi-trust or confidence, not trust (similarity 0.90)
• Liberalism shifts expectations from confidence to trust but neglects the confidence that participation requires (similarity 0.88)
• Ungrounded faith in government benefits the powerful, not the faithful (similarity 0.86)
• Luhmann distinguishes confidence in institutions from trust between persons (similarity 0.86)
• Declining trust in government reflects trustworthiness, not citizen psychology (similarity 0.86)
• Most trust is unreflective, routinized background assumption rather than calculated risk (similarity 0.84)
• Trust differs from confidence in that trust acknowledges alternatives and risks, confidence does not. (similarity 0.84)
• Survey reports of trust in government actually measure confidence in capacity (similarity 0.84)
• Differences in trust are epistemological, not psychological or irrational. (similarity 0.84)
• Luhmannian confidence is blind trust akin to hope, not trust (similarity 0.83)
• Trust in government is trust in capacity, unlike interpersonal trust (similarity 0.83)
• Governments cannot satisfy the encapsulated-interest account of trust. (similarity 0.82)
• Citizens cannot trust government because they lack knowledge of its trustworthiness (similarity 0.82)
• Declining trust in government stems from increased knowledge, not worsened performance (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Trust differs from confidence in that trust acknowledges alternatives and risks, confidence does not. #expands (0.90) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 81
• Trusting a government is not analogous to trusting another person. #corroborates (0.85)
• Confidence and trust are not zero-sum but mutually required by complex societies #qualifies (0.75)