Distrusting others has an impact not only on our relationships, but on society as a whole. You want to know why?
Age, bad experiences, personality… The distrust that we often show towards other subjects or other situations can be caused by multiple factors that will depend on our nature, our condition or our bad experience. Other times, it is prejudices and the received culture itself that determine that we are more distrustful.
Aside from this, which may or may not justify our behavior, distrust in itself generates problems for the person who feels it, not only on an individual level, but also It can affect your relationships, in addition to having a negative impact on the rest of society
A survey has revealed that almost 75% of the population is distrustful, which has a negative impact on society, on the relationship of individuals with others and, therefore, on the solidarity and help that can occur within of a community. Francis Fukuyama, an American political scientist of Japanese origin, distinguishes low trust and high trust societies, depending on the economic and social development and the collective projects carried out in them In this way, he affirms, in the former family businesses are more common, since trust in others is not the common trend. We see this in Mediterranean countries like France and Italy, where small family-run businesses in which positions are passed from father to son
On the contrary, in high-trust societies, such as Japan or the United States, The creation of corporations and large companies is more common, since the level of trust is much higher and there is a tendency to delegate responsibilities and trust in the professionalism and integrity of people
From this division established by Fukuyama it follows that For a society to advance economically and also socially, it is necessary for it to have high levels of trust Accordingly, we work for the common good, which is not only the company but the community. In these societies Social cooperation projects, collective initiatives and citizen responsibility are normal, always in favor of the well-being of society as a whole
Quite the opposite happens in those most distrustful countries, where we only work for and for the individual or family good, without the benefits having any impact on the rest of society. In this environment, citizen responsibilities (helping the most vulnerable, paying taxes…) are less favorable. Distrust of others generates selfishness and social insensitivity which harms the rest of the community.
Distrust affects not only society; Couple and family relationships are also affected. Distrustful people tend to show more insecurity and selfishness, and they transmit these feelings to their partners and their own children. Trust in others makes us grow as people on an individual and social level, makes us respect others, be objective and supportive, increase our emotional well-being and live happily Values that we will transmit to our children and that will allow us to live in a more just and equal society.
