We mainly trust those with whom we have ongoing, valuable relationships.

Evidence

More generally, it is principally those with whom we have ongoing relationships that we trust. In addition, the richer an ongoing relationship and the more valuable it is to us, the more trusting and trustworthy we are likely to be in that relationship. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 67

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s framing: in Saramago’s blindness epidemic, ongoing relationships collapse once visual monitoring vanishes, so trust evaporates.