Trust: A Sociological Theory

by Piotr Sztompka

• ISBN13: 9780521591447
• ISBN10: 0521591449
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Piotr Sztompka here presents a major work of social theory, which gives a comprehensive theoretical account of trust as a fundamental component of human actions. Professor Sztompka's detailed and systematic study takes account of the rich evolving research on trust, and provides conceptual and typological clarifications and explications of the notion itself, its meaning, foundations and functions. He offers an explanatory model of the emergence (or decay) of trust-cultures, and relates the theoretical to the historical by examining the collapse of communism in 1989 and the emergence of a post-communist social order. Piotr Sztompka illustrates and supports his claims with statistical data and his own impressive empirical study of trust, carried out in Poland at the end of the nineties. Trust: A Sociological Theory is a conceptually creative and elegant work in which scholars and students of sociology, political science and social philosophy will find much of interest.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
The turn toward soft variables in sociological theory	1	(17)
The idea of trust	18	(23)
Varieties of trust	41	(28)
Foundations of trust	69	(33)
The functions of trust	102	(17)
The culture of trust	119	(20)
Trust in democracy and autocracy	139	(12)
Trust and rapid social change: a case study	151	(40)
Notes	191	(10)
Bibliography	201	(10)
Index	211