首页
登录
职称英语
(1) It is easy to forget that even the most trivial commercial transactions
(1) It is easy to forget that even the most trivial commercial transactions
游客
2023-10-21
35
管理
问题
(1) It is easy to forget that even the most trivial commercial transactions rely on small acts of trust. Laws encourage good behaviour, but states lack the resources to force everyone to be good all the time. Trust keeps society running. Just ordering a pizza requires faith that the dough will be well made, that the pizzeria will not abuse the customer’s credit-card information, and that the delivery man will not abscond with the cargo. More complex partnerships, of the sort that make long-run economic growth possible, require much higher degrees of trust. New technologies, from sharing-economy apps to the blockchain, offer routes around some of the trust deficits that stand in the way of growth. Yet whether such solutions to problems of mistrust build on or undermine social ties is no easy question to answer.
(2) Trust in society is not just a nicety. It makes possible, as one paper on the subject has it, "the commitment of resources to an activity where the outcome depends upon the co-operative behaviour of others". Low-trust societies waste piles of time and money working out who can be counted on, defending vulnerable stores of wealth, and guarding against con men. Such places are infertile ground for long-run investment, the gains from which could be grabbed by rivals or stolen by government. Meanwhile trust is highest, and defences against chicanery lowest, within some of the world’s wealthiest countries. Studies of the relationship between measures of trust and economic growth find a close link between the two. That does not necessarily mean one causes the other. But research also suggests that trust boosts trade, participation in financial markets and investment, suggesting that greater trust spurs the activities that make a place richer.
(3) Sadly, cultivating trust is hard. It is a sort of social capital which must be built through time and effort. Repeated positive interactions and demonstrations of trustworthiness create a foundation of mutual confidence. Within close communities, emotional cues like praise and shame effectively discourage antisocial activity. In environments rich in social capital, the return for co-operative behaviour is high; you can make more money playing by the rules and building a business, for instance, than by
reneging
on a contract at the first opportunity. In the same way, trustworthiness is rarely rewarded in low-trust societies; both high-trust and low-trust states of the world are sticky.
(4) Inventive humans are good at finding ways around trust bottlenecks. Reliance on families or tribes—groups whose members’ interests are more closely aligned, presumably, than those of the population as a whole—is a common strategy. Yet by their nature, such workarounds are limited in scope, and leave many members of society isolated. New technologies offer a more promising approach. A company’s ability to use the Internet to monitor production in a factory half a world away means that firms need not establish deep relationships with foreign suppliers before opening a distant plant. Network connections between retailers and banks can help verify a customer’s ability to pay; the blockchain, a shared, public and trusted digital of transactions, eliminates the need for a central counterparty altogether.
(5) Historically, however, technology has done more to open up society than to segregate it. New technologies make it easier to trust unfamiliar groups. Public ratings, for instance, can undercut discrimination. Taxi drivers who might normally speed past members of a different race may feel more comfortable picking up a diverse set of riders given good ratings on Uber. A survey conducted by BlaBlaCar, a popular ridesharing service, found that 88% of its members reported a high level of trust in fellow users—higher than that reported for colleagues or neighbours. In a study in America, Alberto Alesina, of Harvard University, and Eliana La Ferrara, of Bocconi University in Milan, found that places with higher levels of racial and income diversity have lower levels of trust. By arranging interactions across such boundaries, technology may widen the circle of trust.
(6) Apps often encourage good behaviour as well. Public ratings, like the ones that Uber presents for its drivers or that Yelp collects for businesses, mean that good customer service is increasingly important in capturing new business. Firms and customers that behave badly risk a permanent stain on their reputation.
(7) It is one thing to use Airbnb to rent a spare room from someone of a different background, and quite another to build the deep social bonds needed to support long-run investments. For big commitments, people will not suddenly let down their guard, however impressive technology becomes. Yet trust is a habit. New technologies that encourage co-operation in some spheres of life contribute to social capital rather than weaken it. (本文选自 The Economist) [br] Trust would bring all the following advantages EXCEPT________.
选项
A、boosting trade
B、boosting investment
C、boosting economic growth
D、boosting deeper trust
答案
D
解析
细节题。原文第二段介绍了信任与经济发展之间的联系,其中最后一句提到,信用会促进贸易、金融市场的参与度和投资,信用度越高越能使一个地方更加富裕。A“促进贸易”、B“促进投资”和C“促进经济增长”显然都是此句中的内容,即信任带来的好处,此题为反选题。故排除A、B和C;文中并未提及D“带来更高的信任度”,故D为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3118296.html
相关试题推荐
Whenyouhavefinishedwiththebook,don’tforgettoreturnittoTim,______?A、d
Sometimesweforgetaboutour______andtrytoblendinwithoursurroundings.A
Mary,whenyouhavefinishedyourhomework,don’tforgettoturnoffthelight,
Youcan’thelpbuthearcommercials;everyfewminutestheprogramisinterrupte
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
Animalsarelivingcreaturesandmostofusoftenforgetaboutit.Although
随机试题
[audioFiles]audio_eusz20076_001(20091)[/audioFiles]A、Heenjoysfindingfaultwi
Themostimportantthinginthenewslastweekwastherisingdiscussionin
构件跨度≤8m的梁的底模拆除时,达到设计的混凝土立方体抗压强度的标准值的百分率(
与软黏土地基某时刻的主固结沉降计算无关的土工参数是( )。A、土层厚度 B、
下列关于个人理财业务管理部门内部调查监督的叙述,不正确的是( )。A.重点检查是
联结型学习理论的创始人是()。A.华生 B.桑代克 C.斯金纳
某化脓性脑膜炎患儿出现烦躁不安,频繁呕吐。四肢肌张力明显瘫痪,双侧瞳孔大小不等,
患儿男性,5岁,1月15日开始发热,伴头痛、恶心、呕吐1次,16日稀便3次,精神
在人类文明史上,古埃及人和两河流域的苏美尔人,都曾创造过古老的文字。然而,随着时
下列钢制容器中,属于《特种设备名录》的是( )。A.氧气瓶 B.氩气瓶 C
最新回复
(
0
)