I used to say the biggest loss suffered during the financial crisis was the loss of #trust. Trust is always difficult to measure. There are indexes to measure the trust/confidence of households, small businesses but these are at best proxies.
Democracy and market economy need trust for their proper functioning. Alain Peyrefitte in his book ”the trust society” offered a convincing demonstration. I made the case that the absolute level of trust however difficult to measure it is has diminished since 2008. This his one of the reasons many countries have experienced populism and social unrest. People thought the system did not work for the common good.
And here we are again. Trust remain central. Or the lack of. Trust in figures. Trust in authorities. Trust in products .... Trust diminishes again. . Conspiracy theories. Fake news. Propaganda... an air of déjà-vu.
This will make the rebuild and the design of the “after” both all the more essential and all the more challenging.
As we know trust is not decreed! How can we agree on what comes next if trust is absent.
Working on trust is therefore critical. It is maybe the most critical ingredient that needs to be grown home. And everywhere. By all of us. #canfinancesavetheworld #sustainability #confidence
