Trust is encapsulated interest in the relationship’s continuation.

Evidence

Both the relatively limited relationship between Trifonov and the lieutenant colonel and the relatively rich relationship you might have with a friend involve trust as encapsulated interest, which we may characterize as follows: I trust you because I think it is in your interest to attend to my interests in the relevant matter. This is not merely to say that you and I have the same interests. Rather, it is to say that you have an interest in attending to my interests because, typically, you want our relationship to continue. At a minimum, you may want our relationship to continue because it is economically beneficial to you, as in the case of Trifonov’s relationship with the lieutenant colonel. In richer cases, you may want our relationship to continue and not to be damaged by your failure to fulfill my trust because you value the relationship for many reasons, including nonmaterial reasons. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 70

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core definition of Hardin’s ‘encapsulated interest’ account of trust — the term and its mechanism are introduced here.
• XREF: Connects to the stated reading purpose: the doctor’s wife in Saramago’s Blindness is the trusted figure whose interest in the relationship continues when all others’ monitoring collapses.