Trust. Building on the Cultural Commons. Pascal Gielen

The book Trust: Building on the Cultural Commons highlights the crucial role of the cultural commons: the experience of living together and the customs, practices, knowledge, and values that emerge from it. Indeed, trust is a matter of culture, emotion, and even aesthetics. Broad social trust begins with the sharing of vulnerabilities, and Gielen argues that the commons provide the necessary space for this — a space for breathing and for experimentation. How can all of this contribute to building society and shaping public policy?

The author raises key questions: how do we overcome a culture of mistrust? In contemporary societies, suspicion toward fellow citizens, governments, and corporations has been steadily increasing, often explained by the shifting of responsibility and a widespread feeling of powerlessness. We search for solutions in regulations, contracts, procedures, guarantees, audits, and consulting, as well as in good governance and transparency. But do these measures actually strengthen trust? Or is trust always, to some extent, blind?

The book was published with the support of Flanders Literature.

Team

Publisher: ist publishing
Author: Pascal Gielen
Translation from English: Tetiana Rodionova, Veronika Yadukha, Yuliia Didokha
Literary Editor: Mariia Horbach
Proofreading: Olha Petrenko-Tseunova
Design and Layout: Ostap Yashchuk
Project Management: Kateryna Nosko, Anastasiia Leonova, Mariia Sharova, Sofiia Holovko
Copyright Lawyer: Mariia Farbota
Illustrations: Karina Boymer