Trust - A History (Hardcover)

Today there is much talk of a 'crisis of trust'; a crisis which is almost certainly genuine, but usually misunderstood. Trust: A History offers a new perspective on the ways in which trust and distrust have functioned in past societies, providing an empirical and historical basis against which the present crisis can be examined, and suggesting ways in which the concept of trust can be used as a tool to understand our own and other societies. Geoffrey Hosking argues that social trust is mediated through symbolic systems, such as religion and money, and the institutions associated with them, such as churches and banks. Historically these institutions have nourished trust, but the resulting trust networks have tended to create quite tough boundaries around themselves, across which distrust is projected against outsiders. Hosking also shows how nation-states have been particularly good at absorbing symbolic systems and generating trust among large numbers of people, while also erecting distinct boundaries around themselves, despite an increasingly global economy. He asserts that in the modern world it has become common to entrust major resources to institutions we know little about, and suggests that we need to learn from historical experience and temper this with more traditional forms of trust, or become an ever more distrustful society, with potentially very destabilising consequences.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	August 2014
First published:	October 2014
Authors:	Geoffrey Hosking (Emeritus Professor of Russian History)
Dimensions:	240 x 161 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	224
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-871238-1
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > Theory & methods > Historiography Books > Humanities > History > World history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > Social & cultural anthropology > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > Theory & methods > Historiography Books > History > World history > General Promotions
LSN:	0-19-871238-3
Barcode:	9780198712381

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