Trust in strangers
How would you feel about finding that strangers had been living in your house while you were away? Sleeping in your bed? Using your things?
I was delighted.
My family has been house swapping for many years now - arranging a deal through the internet with another family we have never met to exchange homes. Effectively, we walk into each other's lives.
So for half-term we were in the Lake District - taking care of ducks, rabbits, a tank of African land snails and a farmhouse north of Bassenthwaite Lake. They came to London and took responsibility for our guinea pigs, stick insects, goldfish, home and possessions.
It is an exercise in mutual trust.
Trust is a precious commodity. And not just because it can save the cost of accommodation.
It is the currency of successful societies. In Britain, inter-personal trust has been in long recession leaving us with one of the weakest trust economies in Europe.
The historical decline in trust leaves our resilience exposed to the cancer of cynicism.
Just read this weekend's papers and there are endless stories which play to the prejudice that those with power are inevitably on the make. On the flimsiest of evidence it is assumed that most of our elected representatives are motivated by personal greed rather than the common good. Our fascination is with politicians not politics.
It all plays to a dreary and destructive national narrative that everything is getting worse, that our society is heading for hell in a handcart. We refuse to believe the evidence of falling crime rates or improving lives. We are losing our faith in other people.
The Lake District was a breath of fresh air for a journalist exhausted by such urban suspicions. Walkers met your gaze and smiled. Shoppers offered a cheery word about the weather. Publicans trusted you to settle up at the end of the evening without a piece of plastic security. And our invisible hosts trusted us to put the ducks to bed at sundown.
A survey three years ago found that people who lived in villages and hamlets were generally more trusting than those in larger, denser communities [pdf link]. The choice was whether, generally speaking "most people can be trusted" or "you can't be too careful in dealing with people" - the traditional measure. While just 36% of people in urban England (outside London) picked the first option, in rural villages it was 51%.
But this is more than a simple rural/urban comparison. How does one explain the government data [pdf link] which shows that "Londoners display a significantly higher level of social trust than those in urban parts of the north and west"?
The samples sizes are not huge and it seems unlikely that within four years of relative social calm there would be huge changes in trust (why should trust have fallen ten points in the non-urban south and east?) but the scores for busy, diverse, metropolitan London do not suggest I live in 'cynical city'. In fact, for 2002, London scores higher than any other part of the country.
The researchers scratched their heads and concluded: "This difference is likely to reflect the distinctive socio-demographic and economic profile of Londoners compared with those in urban parts of the north and west. We know, for instance, that levels of social trust are highest among graduates, those in professional and managerial occupations, and the affluent; all groups which are more common in London than elsewhere."
More recent research suggests trust in strangers is causally linked with "outward exposure" to strangers. So, those with strong family ties - it is argued - are less likely to trust strangers because they are less likely to interact with people they don't know.
"Factors that limit exposure, of which strong family ties is one among others, limit subjects' experience as well as motivation to deal with strangers and learn from the interaction; by contrast, we find evidence that factors that promote exposure increase trust."
This might explain why London scores so well. It is a city in which it is hard to avoid exposure to strangers.
Knocking the Cumbrian mud off my walking boots back in the capital, I am not convinced trusting communities are defined by wealth, education or professional status.
Trust, it seems to me, is viral. If someone shows their trust in you, you become more trusting - and so it spreads. But cynicism is a virus too, incubated and cultured by social isolation. How we weather the recession will depend, as much as anything, on the battle between the two. We need to get out more.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~29~RS~)
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I would suggets another reason, mark.
That is the level to which populations are neglected or even harmed by their governors.
Londoners know that they are the centre of the UK universe. Urban areas outside the capital, especially in the South are neglected by the government.
We are seen as cash cows to milked, our council tax is hugely inflated compared to other councils becasue central government withdraws funding from the South and redistributes it to other parts of the UK. Our services are cut year on year, our police are useless, agressively pursueing driving offences whilst rushing to and fro for shift changes with blues and twos flashing. Yet without any presence on the streets, is it any wonder that Southeners are more self reliant and less trusting we have to be, cos we have been hung out to dry.
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Is anyone else here amused by a Londoner not trusting a survey on trust which said that Londoners are more trusting than other people?
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I have lived all over the UK and I lived for a time in London, now a nice place it was greedy self obsessed believed its own hype dangerous, money obsessed and very class ridden for a huge dull place, Fro a capital city it is no nice to look at to traffic ridden everyone needs a car to get out off it two hours anyway to get to country. Far from trusting it is very unfriendly and violent once you live there you know why people come here to get lost and die.
The media sells London as a image of the rocking rolling place to be and all Govenment is Governed from there and it feels as if no were else matters it is also an money pit and soaks up everything the rest of the country get pittance compared to what London eats it is crowed, over priced everything costs to much and it is racist many places on the fringes of London are enclaves of middle class whites. There is loads of sink estates and poverty is rife the homeless live cheek by jowl with the rich everyone talks about living in London but they do not crammed in over crowned buses and the tube they empty the city by six working till they drop out to the over priced houses, it is a stressful dirty place full of concrete streets and few trees which makes it very cold in the winter and very hot and you can not breath in the summer
For all the money that is spent on it it is like covering the pox with black patches, it should be moved down the Thames so that it gets better air and water, which is dreadful sorry but its even worse now.
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We now live in a country, where many are prepared to break the law, where many have no interest in other people's rights, but become very vocal when they think their own rights are being denied them.
These folk have little regard for their responsibilities to others, to society or even to themselves.
Forty years ago a popular form of travel was hitch-hiking. Who now would be foolish enough to hitch, or, as a driver, be crazy enough to pick up such a travellor.
You could go for a walk in the streets of your local town in perfect safety. Now many policemen only patrol in daylight, in pairs.
Children used to be able to walk to school without the fear of being bullied or abducted.
Children used to be safe within their own families - no longer.
Until a proper perpective on each individual's responsibilities are reinstated - and "crime + punishment" may well be the only answer - I for one will remain cautious in my dealing others.
Folk must earn my trust as I must earn theirs.
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Trust ? When we're monitored by cameras everywhere we go ?
Trust ? When every time someone exposes malpractise in government we're told "They didn't break any rules." ?
Trust ? When the government wants to keep a record of every e-mail we send, and record every phonecall we make ?
I would suggest that people look to the behaviour of their leaders and follow their example. That would seem to indicate that you trust nobody and grab everything that isn't nailed down.
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A nice view Mark and one that should be widely accepted but alas is not.
we say to 'trust' that trust must be earned? why is that trust must be earned and not just be given, could it be that we only ever hear of distrust and suspicion of others and look for a motive that preludes the interactions that we make with each other?.
I could smoke the herb yet without meeting me on that assumption alone a person could put up this barrier of doubt that will erode trust immediately because of the views held by society or the part of society that hold with a/the common conception that its a criminal activity so the rest of my life follows accordingly. Its a funny old thing this suspicion lark as we all do it , we look a face a hat a hair cut and build the whole picture from what we have seen or experienced before. So in order not to become vulnerable to the picture we hold as a conceived truth we make a choice usualy to put up a barrier. the end.
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Yeah but the family you swapped with knew they had to behave themselves or it would be on the BBC...
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So if this level of trust has a lot to do with affluence - shouldn't this naturally lead to a debate about class
I doubt that a successful BBC editor such as yourself would swap homes with an unemployed 'jim royle' character from a council estate, you went to 'the countryside' from a presumably reasonably affluent urban environment
I'm a cynic, but am far more interested in actual politics than the individuals and I find your comment a little harsh on the value of cynicism - you are referring to the hate and vitriol of the tabloids, not the rational critique of politics that develops a natural cynicism towards politics in people
why the politicians do what they do is well studied and there are plenty of reasons for cynicism - you should know well enough yourself, having questioned the government rather heavily over their misdirected drug and crime policies made to look tough, gain votes and do bugger all - if that's not a reason to be cynical I don't know what is
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#4 newsjock
"Children used to be able to walk to school without the fear of being bullied or abducted.
Children used to be safe within their own families - no longer."
Frankly, this is garbage. What is true is that these events were not reported on radio, tv, or the press (apart from carefully worded stories in the News of the World) in the 1950s.
You are contrasting an imaginary yesterday with an apocalyptic today.
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Basically, we've lost it.
You only have to watch an episode of Bruce Parry's excellent series of "Tribe" or his recent trip down the Amazon to be completely humbled by the way "primitive " people welcome him into their lives in a completely open and trusting way. They have nothing but yet give what little they have and share food and other resources.
But he doesn't abuse their trust and is always respectful towards them.
I find I usually trust others until they give me cause not to which in this culture can happen extremely quickly even with members of ones own family as I've found out to my cost. As a rule of thumb I would say that in this country working class people are more supportive and trustworthy than the middle classes (or aspiring middle class) who whilst "caring" on the outside are often spiteful underneath and ready to stab anyone in the back if they stand in their way.
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A really nice view Mark. I too have house swapped for years, but mainly through the bond of trust that exists in the Steiner school community worldwide. Last summer we went to South Uist on a house swop and found that nobody locks their doors and neither did we. Trust is a wonderful thing.
Having lived in London for many years but for equally many years now back in Scotland I remember feeling a bit ashamed of myself for not having the same level of trust in Londoners until reading the accounts of the of the lives of thevictims of the London tube attrocities. Just regular people like ourselves. Good people. Trust worthy people.
I think the problem of cynicism in society is all down to modern politics. Where lying is just another political tactic as Jonathan Powell boasted on Radio 4 when plugging his memoir. Andrew Alexander was quite right in the Mail to point out how uncomfortable it makes him with the ease with which the PM tells such unnecessary lies.
Last week I had a letter from the truly ghastly Alan Johnson via my MP Alistair Darling telling me that while he quite knew that the system of eye testing in this country is deeply flawed and countless people suffered (it should be 2020true not just 2020) he had absolutely no intention of reviewing policy in this field.
The very same Alan Johnson who spent a million of tax payers money spinning the NHS charter also on the Today programme and elsewhere.
Such dreadful cynicism makes all good people just want to throw the towel in. But as a society we just can't afford to. We need to trust people and trust in people.
As you say we need to get out more. But we also have to think much more carefully about the kind of people that we want to lead our society and I fermently hope that Labour party members do not vote for the despicable Johnson when the equally despicable unelected Prime Minister steps down from the highest office in the land. Two war criminals on the trot is quite enough without the likes of Johnson following in their stead. Let us have someone who was not in the Cabinet at the time of the decision to go to war in Iraq to lead the Labour party in opposition not another New Labour cynic like Alan Johnson.
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We trust the strangers in government to look after us (rather than themselves) and they break our trust.
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I used to live in the Highlands of Scotland and again, many people did not lock house doors and sometimes even their car doors. In fact, this trust was prized - and there were specific laws that gave it a high prominence, so that if you broke into a house or a car and breached that trust, you were dealt with more severely than if you, say, shoplifted.
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I don't think that trust has changed, as far as people you know. However as has been said with trust from Brown and Brussels at an all time low, MP's and MEP's in it for all they can get (especially the government ministers), I don't see what reason there is to trust anyone.
The fact is that there is no difference in danger for children to what there was 50 years ago, remember the Moors Murders, however the media now reports every cough made by any child and creats an illusion that the world is more dangerous, the advise I was given in the 50's & 60's still holds good "Don't go with strangers".
Overall I think that the government of Blair and Brown has been trading the distrust inoredr to divide and rule, especially England, inorder to break up the UK on the orders of the EU. Why shoud anyone trust any person one doesn't know when the Politicians and other celebrities are so obvoiusly untrustworthy.
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It is an interesting dialogue this Mark. Maybe the BBC should be thinking about commissioning a programme on the nature of trust and modern British politics. I agree that people have not really changed that much in the past fifty years and yet trust in each other has been corroded. We need to get to the bottom of this if are going to recover as a society and surely examining the role that this generation of politicians have played would be a good starting point. We know that the irresponsible baby boomer bankers have cost us all pounds shilllings and pence but I can't help thinking that the politicians have cost us so very much more. This sense that we are living in something other than a democracy.
The fascinating thing about my run in with Alistair Darling (which has been going on for more than three years) is that I found that we live in only a theoretical democracy. If you catch your MP marching to the drum of his own party line and policy rather than properly addressing your concerns as a constituent then you have absolutely no redress. When I offered up my evidence to the parliamentary standards office I was told that there is no grievance procedure. An MP is free to represent a constituent's affairs in any way that they chose to.
In the end I resorted to treating Alistair Darling with the same contempt that he treated me. I am not proud of the fact that I wrote to a current serving Chancellor describing him as an untrustworthy slug. But there we go. It is exactly how I feel about the way that he behaved and trust me if I were to stick the entire correspondence about Darling and 2020true on the Internet the Chancellor would have no credibility in the financial markets worldwide whether the British press reported the matter or not. That is the beauty of the Internet age. For the sake of his careeer Mr Darling will just have to keep his fingers crossed that I don't. And trust that as a good person (I hope) I don't think that I could ever be quite so cruel to another human being.
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You say "On the flimsiest of evidence it is assumed that most of our elected representatives are motivated by personal greed rather than the common good."
I disagree. There is plenty of real and even more circumstancial evidence to suggest that the vast majority of politicians, professional and amateur (like local councillors) are simply there to further their own personal agendas, wealth and power. This evidence can be seen both in the media reported actions of these low-lives and also in civil and criminal actions against a limited number of those who didn't "pay" protection favours.
Corruption is endemic in our neo-aristrocacy and their private armies of the police and other officials. Very few "ordinary" tax payes, like me, feel they receive any benefit in return for the ridiculously high taxes we pay.
Trust should start at the top, respect is something earnt and not coerced. Fear is no replacement for respect. No amount of uber-control and big-brother laws will make most of us cower and forget how evil these people really are. First things to do to show that there is respect for the electorate - remove the badly hidden clauses on open data sharing in the new Coroners etc. Act and scrap the hyper-invasive identity database.
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Mark,
it is easy to be delighted by the fact that a 'stranger' is sleeping in your house, when the 'stranger' is some well-to-do person with a big house/ period cottage in a posh area of the countryside.
I wonder whether the feeling will be the same if you have to swap with a family living in one-bedroom council flat in Birmingham? Time-sharers trust each other precisly because they swap with people of the same level in society. I do not think a person with a villa in the South of France will want to swap it for my flat in Acton, London, UK.
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Mark Easton:
How would you feel about finding that strangers had been living in your house while you were away? Sleeping in your bed? Using your things?
(**//**)
I am not the comfortable with the questions that were posed regarding house swapping, but, If you have done a good job checking out the backgrounds of the perspective persons than I would gave them a good chance....
~Dennis Junior~
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I am concerned that your comments on trust in the UK show a general level of conscious negativity being generated from within those that live and work here.
The UK in general is growing more morbid than ever during this period of recession. The recession, though obviously requiring it's time to run it's course, is being 'talked up' by so many people. The general level of pessimism alone could easily have kicked us into recession without the asinine bankers leading the way.
It is with great delight that I see so much positiveness in your exciting and enjoyable time in The Lake District. There is a huge necessity now to 'talk up' the UK not only to lift us from this confounded recession but also to remind us all that we have such world class countryside within our own geographic boundaries.
I look forward to to more BBC coverage of the positive aspects of our stunning country.
Lakedistricter is a local to the Windermere area and promotes the Lake District at all opportunities through blogging and through contact with the many guests who stay in the local holiday cottages near where he lives. [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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