Common responsibilities: Public, relational and organizational trust in economic affairs

One of the most signicant economists of our time, Kenneth Arrow, argued over three decades ago that trust has implications for the economy as well as the polity. In the current “economic crisis” his words seem prophetic. For Arrow, trust has not only economic value but also sheer pragmatic value. It simply makes life easier. Like Luhmann, Arrow viewed trust as an important lubricant of a social system: “It is extremely ecient; it saves a lot of trouble to have a fair degree of reliance on other people’s word” (Arrow, 1974, p. 23). Note here that the term trust is meant to imply honesty and integrity - that one’s word can be counted on.