The claim that trust is necessary, ubiquitous, and unavoidable overreaches

Evidence

Current writings seem to go much further than this in their claims. For example, Shmuel Eisenstadt and Luis Roniger (1984, 16–17) write of “the necessity for and the ubiquity of trust in human relations and the impossibility of building continuing social relations without some element of trust.” This short sentence includes three extravagant terms: necessity, ubiquity, and impossibility. One can sensibly question the claim for each of these terms here. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 804

Categorization

• XREF: Hardin’s deflation of ‘generalized trust’ claims parallels the reader’s puzzle: Saramago’s world shows how little trust — and of what particular form — is actually needed for order.