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===A feature, not a bug.=== | ===A feature, not a bug.=== | ||
[[Trust]] is fundamental to every legal, political, and financial system that has ever existed. It is the one component of a prosperous polity that cannot be dissolved by technology.<ref>Not even [[blockchain]]. ''Especially'' not blockchain.</ref> Trust converts the “''single-round”'' [[prisoner’s dilemma]] — in which a rational ''homo economicus'' would, and therefore ''should'', throw {{sex|her}} co-conspirator under the bus — to the “''iterated”'' [[prisoner’s dilemma]], in which the longer term benefits of ''not'' doing that outweigh the undeniable headrush it would provide in short term if | [[Trust]] is fundamental to every legal, political, and financial system that has ever existed. It is the one component of a prosperous polity that cannot be dissolved by [[Electric monk|technology]].<ref>Not even [[blockchain]]. ''Especially'' not blockchain.</ref> Trust converts the “''single-round”'' [[prisoner’s dilemma]] — in which a rational ''homo economicus'' would, and therefore ''should'', throw {{sex|her}} co-conspirator under the bus — to the “''iterated”'' [[prisoner’s dilemma]], in which the longer term benefits of ''not'' doing that outweigh the undeniable headrush it would provide in short term if she did. | ||
If you know you will a fellow merchant again, and go through this again — or even if you | If you know you will meet a fellow merchant again, and go through this again — or even if you are pretty sure you won’t, but ''can’t quite be sure —'' the rational thing to do is co-operate, at least as long as your co-conspirator does. | ||
[[Trust]] is a '' | [[Trust]] is a ''social'' imperative, not a legal one. It derives its power from the very fact that it is ''not'' backed by law, rule or regulation. It is not a compulsion; it is a voluntary submission to the mercy of a third party in the hope of a reciprocal submission back. It is to make oneself vulnerable for the betterment of all. It explains the fable of the wealthy merchant who accosts the elderly turnip farmer. | ||
Other variations: | Other variations: | ||
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:''“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred per cent.”'' | :''“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred per cent.”'' | ||
To trust someone is to ''take | To trust someone is to ''take [[risk]]''. | ||
Prevailing orthodoxy is to [[Taxonomy|taxonomise]], categorise, and eliminate every foible, variable, weakness, and [[risk]], as you go, delimiting, boxing, [[reductionism|reducing]] and bit-crushing risks down into their smallest components. | Prevailing orthodoxy is to [[Taxonomy|taxonomise]], categorise, and eliminate every foible, variable, weakness, and [[risk]], as you go, delimiting, boxing, [[reductionism|reducing]] and bit-crushing risks down into their smallest components. | ||
“By so isolating and atomising risks,” the orthodox are prone to say, “you eliminate them, you see.” | |||
So in the same way that rules, | A great risk in the system is that posed by humans beings: all their inconstancy, unreliability, stupidity or mendacity. Thus, eliminating risk tends to be conflated with eliminating ''individuals'', or at least the need to ''[[trust]]'' them. Hence, a millenarian yen to rid our present system of the need for trust, replacing it with [[Blockchain|technology]]. To be clear here: [[Distributed ledger technology|distributed ledgers]] do not reinforce trust between merchants: they ''eliminate the need for'' it. | ||
So in the same way that rules, [[playbook]]<nowiki/>s and [[Policy|policies]] override the judgment of and confidence in individuals using them — thereby deprecating those individuals and stunting their ability to connect — the will to eliminate trusted intermediaries in a [[Blockchain|distributed ledger]] system has the same fundamental shortcoming. | |||
''Trust is a feature, not a bug.'' | ''Trust is a feature, not a bug.'' | ||
=== Child’s play === | |||
By way of analogy, converting a ''moral'' obligation to someone else (say, “pick your children up promptly at the conclusion of today’s kindergarten session”)<ref>You may remember this from Freakonomics</ref> into a ''financial'' one (if you arrive more than ten minutes after the session ends, you will be charged a late collection fee) has the same effect. Now there is a price on your time: I can pay for my delinquency without compunction. | By way of analogy, converting a ''moral'' obligation to someone else (say, “pick your children up promptly at the conclusion of today’s kindergarten session”)<ref>You may remember this from Freakonomics</ref> into a ''financial'' one (if you arrive more than ten minutes after the session ends, you will be charged a late collection fee) has the same effect. Now there is a price on your time: I can pay for my delinquency without compunction. | ||
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The answer is not to prevent these activities, but create alternative structures which lower the barriers to entry into relations of trust for those without the necessary connections. | The answer is not to prevent these activities, but create alternative structures which lower the barriers to entry into relations of trust for those without the necessary connections. | ||
{{Sa}}{{draft}} | |||
* [[Debt: The First 5,000 Years|''Debt: The First 5,000 Years'']] | |||
{{ref}} | {{ref}} | ||