As we have learned through the humanity history, tribes and nations that lacked trust among themselves as human beings have failed in their development winding road. Not unexpectedly, many attempts to rebuild trust within these failed groups of individuals were made, and again they mostly did not succeed. Trust is spread and built difficultly and breaks down in a matter of seconds of domestic war, country-wide natural disaster or extreme economic conditions, such as hyperinflation or famine. There are steps that prosperous nations have taken, and others can still take before it is too late. For least developed regions that have been affected continuously with religious or racial conflicts, it could take up to a century to build trust after the permanent ceasefire (if there will be any).
The very first step a single nation can take is to forget about its past, as using it to be proud or to blame anyone. Consider the countries that we know as developed: many of the people there do not share a common history among themselves. Many under developed countries are now facing not so glorious times. Take the case of Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and many other Asian countries that are a sort of heritage for humanity, but are facing daily troubles in providing their nations with basic matters of prosperity. In the writer’s opinion, it is crucial to forget about the past and only look at it as the things that happened and we only must know and learn from, nothing more.
To achieve a higher level of trust among the individuals, the government must guarantee the protection of property rights and regulations to protect people and their businesses, jobs and health. All the threats to individuals’ assets, health and the basic matters of daily living must be prevented and punished in case. It can help the economy build around a growth path that in long-term keeps the people stick together as respected individuals. It also helps to save, invest and make the growth more sustainable.
One last step is to define a common goal and the necessary framework to achieve via democracy. This goal can be “to become the greatest country in the world, or the most sustainable one or even simply become the happiest nation”. An excellent example of such a goal is what the Swiss government established a few decades ago, when people were asked if they wanted to live in a sustainable growth environment. The nation will have one valuable goal in common, and the diversity among individuals must be accepted. No religious or political movement should be able to limit the people to think and act in a particular direction.
As history has shown us, the nations that did not grow trust and the relative institutions, have not achieved any of the sustainable growth goals. Physical capital and machinery is not all: human and social capital are crucial elements in reaching a good level of economic and social development. Countries must invest in the humans and their education, as well as investing in natural resources and machinery.
Siavash Mohades 