Have stories of scandals and wrongdoing created a crisis of trust in society?
Yes, of course it has and the implications for relationships will be significant.
A global poll in January 2009 of 14,555 people showed UK citizens as being among the most pessimistic and least trusting.
David Chadwick of Kent University raised a provocative issue in a keynote presentation in Maastricht in October 2008. To paraphrase "Communities [cultures, nations, industry sectors] with a high degree of trust [he mentioned UK, USA] develop 'big' businesses. Communities with lower trust cultures [France, China, Sicily] tend to be more insular."
Peter Murton of PAOGA said "Trust is the foundation for all successful business ecosystems and it is fundamentally missing from the online environment. The success of the VRM [Vendor Relationship Management] movement will pivot around the development of system architectures that deliver mutual trust between the individual and business. Individuals should understand that this comes with responsibilities: to maintain accurate data about themselves and to work at establishing policies for the use of their data on a case-by-case basis maybe. Business should understand their role in complying with user policies and be prepared to invest in the creation of the biggest successful business ecosystem on the planet - the internet."
The Financial Market crash triggered the current recession (depression) resulting in serious loss of individual wealth, property devaluation, bail-outs funded by tax payers and increasing unemployment.
The media have repeatedly uncovered serious data breaches of corporate and public data silos resulting in a huge increase in identity theft and fraud.
The government have contributed to the problem by creating a climate of fear and distrust in society as a whole.
These and other events are changing the mindset of UK citizens who are rejecting conspicuous consumption, saving rather than spending, buying what they need rather than what they want, downsizing houses and cars, mending rather than replacing.
The Global Market does not seem to be the answer. Perhaps it’s much closer to home.
• 80% of UK GDP is generated by SMEs
• 80% of SME customers are within 30 miles
• 80% of the population live within 30 miles of their place of birth
Using the web to recreate the local community rather than the global village makes sound economic sense.
Using local service providers and buying fresh seasonal goods locally reduces transportation costs, unnecessary packaging and creates employment positively contributing to the Health, Wealth and Happiness of the individual, their family and their community.
