Trust in modernity: The case of Adam Smith

Abstract

Recent examination of Adam Smith’s mention of trust and his understanding of the role of trust in interpersonal relations add to his standing as a theorist of modernity. Smith’s development of the notion of trust is confined to an account of trustworthiness, which is consistent with his theory of moral agency based on the principle of the impartial spectator. In addition, it is demonstrated that the predominance of trustworthiness in Smith’s understanding relates to the significant presence of cottage industry in a globalised commercial economy, through which reliance on others is foregrounded. At the same time Smith was unable to grasp the disposition and agency of a trustor, a person giving trust, and their confidence in choosing to balance the risk of depending on strangers with the advantage such dependence might provide. In this way both Smith’s understanding of trust and the nature of trust itself are explicated.