Title: Trust : the social virtues and the creation of prosperity /
Authors: Fukuyama, Francis; Pratt, Stanley E., 1931-
Publisher: Free Press,
Year: 1995
Subjects: Economics Moral and ethical aspects.; Trust; Virtue; Economic history
Abstract: In Trust, a sweeping assessment of the emerging global economic order "after History," Fukuyama examines a wide range of national cultures in order to divine the hidden principles that make a good and prosperous society, and his findings strongly challenge the orthodoxies of both left and right. In fact, economic life is pervaded by culture and depends, Fukuyama maintains, on moral bonds of social trust. This is the unspoken, unwritten bond between fellow citizens that facilitates transactions, empowers individual creativity, and justifies collective action. In the global struggle for economic predominance that is now upon us - a struggle in which cultural differences will become the chief determinant of national success - the social capital represented by trust will be as important as physical capital. But trust varies greatly from one society to another, and a map of how social capital is distributed around the world yields many surprises.
Contents: The idea of trust: the improbable power of culture in the making of economic society -- Low-trust societies and the paradox of family values -- High-trust societies and the challenge of sustaining sociability -- American society and the crisis of trust -- Enriching trust: combining traditional culture and modern institutions in the twenty-first century.