ABSTRACT
Another way of approaching this question is through the concept of the “radius of trust.” All groups embodying social capital have a certain radius of trust, that is, the circle of people among whom cooperative norms are operative. If a group's social capital produces positive externalities, the radius of trust can be larger than the group itself. It is also possible for the radius of trust to be smaller than the membership of the group, as in large organisations that foster cooperative norms only among the group's leadership or permanent staff. A modern society may be thought of as a series of concentric and overlapping radii of trust. (Fukuyama, 2000, p. 4)
