Pandemics: The Politics of Trust & Optimism

In this video, I take a look at what ‘trust’ is philosophically. When trust is in low supply in our societies, it’s a sign of a deeper issue. That’s why any social progress involves, in some way, an increase in trust. Trust is a difficult concept to define, but it is, ultimately, an optimism in people; which is why any positive social change should revolve around trust in some way. So much of our modern society relies on trust. We trust the food we buy is safe, the medicines we take aren’t poisonous, that drivers and pilots won’t crash us, that electricians won t poorly wire our houses… Many studies have shown that trust influences economic growth and societal prosperity. The economist Kenneth Arrow wrote that ‘virtually every commercial transaction has within itself an element of trust’ Trust that a person can do the best job, shares your goals, won t scam you, trust is required to setup businesses, to deal with people and work in groups. Trust sometimes involves letting others make a decision for you. Believing that someone has your best interests at heart. Admitting that they’re better placed to understand a situation or to help with a goal. How might pandemics of the past, present, and future, be shaped by, and have an effect on, social trust? Then & Now is FAN-FUNDED! Support me on Patreon and pledge as little as $1 per video: http://patreon.com/user?u=3517018 Or send me a one-off tip of any amount and help me make more videos: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JJ76W4CZ2A8J2 Buy on Amazon through this link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/2ykJe6L Follow me on: Facebook: http://fb.me/thethenandnow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethenandnow/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewlewwaller Credits: Swine Flu Advert:https://www.flickr.com/photos/andybullock77/3520721969/ Creative Commons 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Sources: https://voxeu.org/article/pandemics-and-social-capital https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/3/24/21191184/coronavirus-social-distancing-pandemic-spring-break-keep-calm-carry-on Le Moglie, M, F Gandolfi, G Alfani and A Aassve (2020), “Epidemics and Trust: The Case of the Spanish Flu”, IGIER Working Paper No. 661. Ed Yong, How the Pandemic Will End, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/ Algan, Yann, and Pierre Cahuc. 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth." American Economic Review, 100 (5): 2060-92.DOI: 10.1257/aer.100.5.2060 Siegrist, M., & Zingg, A. (2014). The role of public trust during pandemics: Implications for crisis communication. European Psychologist, 19(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000169 Carrie Arnold, The Anti-Poverty Experiment, https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-018-05259-x/d41586-018-05259-x.pdf Robert Solomon and Fernando Flores, Building Trust in Business, Politics, Relationships, and Life