Social trust
Etymology
From “trust,” from Old Norse “traust,” “confidence, protection, firmness,” tied to the Germanic root behind “true” and to words for steadfastness and reliability (the same family as “tree,” something firmly rooted). Paired with “social,” it names not trust in a particular person but a diffuse confidence extended across a whole society.
noun phrase · /SOH-shul TRUST/
The general expectation that strangers, institutions, and fellow citizens will behave honestly and keep their commitments.
What it names
Reach for it to name the invisible social glue that lets people cooperate with those they do not know — and whose erosion makes everything costlier.
Example
In places with high social trust, people leave doors unlocked and pay strangers in advance without a second thought.
Related idea
Social trust is horizontal — confidence in fellow citizens and everyday institutions — while legitimacy is more vertical, concerning whether authority is accepted as rightful. A society can grant its government legitimacy yet have citizens who deeply distrust one another, and the daily friction of low trust is felt long before any political crisis.