Finally, the concepts of good governance, transparency, accountability, confidentiality and
privacy are all related to trust. Trust is a social construct. Trust is attributable to
relationships between social actors, both individuals and groups. Society needs trust
because “[W]hatever government does, a trusting environment makes it possible for
government to act” (Uslaner, 2004). Citizens are continually being asked to authorize the
activities of government and other organizations that operate at the edge of what is
confidently known from everyday experience, at the point where new possibilities are
ineffable. Without trust, every possible outcome and combination of circumstances would
always have to be considered, leading to paralysis. Trust can be seen as a bet on one
possible future, so that society, social organizations and individuals can derive the possible
benefits. Once the bet is decided (i.e. trust is granted), the person who trusts suspends his
or her disbelief and the possibility of a negative outcome from a course of action is
discounted. Because it operates in this way, trust acts to reduce social complexity, allowing
for actions that are, otherwise, too complex to be considered or even impossible to
consider at all. Individuals and organizations that could not achieve positive results alone
are able to achieve cooperation with others because they are prepared to place their trust
in others. Without trust, society could hardly function. To illustrate this point, we accept
payment because we trust we will be able to exchange this for food, clothing and shelter.
The money has no intrinsic value unless we have the confidence that others will honor their
value. This understanding helps explain the definition of money as a legal tender (Procter,
2005). As a result, modern society would be completely impossible without trust.