Educating trust

İt is useful for individuals to have some trust in each other's word. ln the absence of trust, it would become very costly to arrange for alternative sanctions and guarantees, and many opportunities deriving from mutually beneficial cooperation would have to be foregone. Lack of trust is indeed one of the causes of economic underdevelopment. A recognition of instrumental role of morality and the overlap of economics and practical ethics is under observation. Social morality and trust cannot simply be bought. Within limits it can be produced through education - a collective undertaking that requires a considerable ammount of real resources and time to become effective. Such education may be costly, but it is crucially important for keeping society together.