Trust and Trustworthiness

by Russell Hardin

Book Overview

What does it mean to "trust?" What makes us feel secure enough to place our confidence--even at times our welfare--in the hands of other people? Is it possible to "trust" an institution? What exactly do people mean when they claim to "distrust" their governments? As difficult as it may be to define, trust is essential to the formation and maintenance of a civil society. In Trust and Trustworthiness political scientist Russell Hardin addresses the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871543419
• ISBN13: 9780871543417
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The starting point

Yes, it is an academic study of the key concepts. And it is an almost perfect one; it gives a broad overview of other interpretations and then formulates its own, very powerful one, it makes the bold claim that we can understand trust in terms of self-interest (for most writers these two terms and naturally inconsistent, and they are wrong) It is just perfectly written, while most books on trust mumble about everything and nothing, this one is to the point and precise although not technical, everyone can read it. If you need a starting point to study the complex idea of trust, the clarity of Hardin's study makes it perfect; this one will be more useful than ten others, usually either blurry or trivial.