ABSTRACT
Social scientists have variously identified trust as a ‘public good’ necessary for the smooth running of many transactions,1 an essential requirement for stable social relationships2 and a way for social actors to cope with uncertainty and vulnerability.3 Trust, at its best, assumes that promises will be kept, that relationships will be dependable and that neither sanctions nor rewards are necessary for it to be exercised.4 O’Neill emphasizes that every profession needs trust. Without it, there can be no reliance that others will act as they say that they will. In turn, loss of trust is of considerable significance:
Since trust has to be placed without guarantees, it is inevitably sometimes misplaced: others let us down and we let others down. When this happens trust and relationships based on trust are both damaged. Trust, it is constantly observed, is hard earned and easily dissipated. It is valuable social capital and not to be squandered.5
