I'm not a fan of books that rest on self-reporting (surveys that ask how you "feel" about a government). But this book compelled me because my family is from Southern Italy so I know there's truth to its core premise that civic trust is lacking there. This book focuses on the pressing issue of how to govern people who don't self-govern - people disposed to break the law when they think they can get away with it. How do you prosper or even survive in a place where you know you can't trust your neighbors? The authors wind their way to the conclusion that it takes a very long time for civic virtue to grow, but there is no alternative. Social capital is essential for development and it only grows the organic way: daring to trust your neighbor and not having your trust betrayed must be experienced over and over until it becomes a habit. It can take many generations. That's not an answer anyone wants to hear. Even Southern Italian leaders were disconcerted by the researcher's lack of a pill to prescribe for a fast cure. Everyone wants a short-cut to the development process, so I credit the authors for resisting that temptation. No one likes to acknowledge the routine violation of basic neighbor-to-neighbor trust in some cultures. I grew up in such a culture and saw the harm it did, so I applaud the authors for speaking of it. (I refer here not to the community I actually lived in but to the old-world culture my parents had internalized.)
I gave this book three stars because it reads like an academic paper. It flops between statistical methodology and sweeping abstractions. While I agree with the content, you have to really struggle to extract it. Nevertheless, I am passionate about the subject of the core mammalian need for trust within a herd or pack or troop. Readers who share that interest might want to check out
I, Mammal: Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness
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