On trust and the systems that scale it

Trust is the invisible thread that holds human cooperation together.

It lets us move in the same direction, take risks, and rely on each other. Without trust, we become anxious and adrift, unable to distinguish truth from falsehood, safety from danger.

Trust gives us the confidence to act despite uncertainty: it simplifies an overwhelming world. Without it, complexity paralyses us.

But trust has limits.

As social animals, we’re wired to build trust in small groups. Friends, family, close-knit groups. With time and regularity, shared understanding grows.

You learn what to expect and what not to.

But beyond 150 connections, says Dunbar’s number, trust frays. There’s only so much trust we can extend before uncertainty creeps in.

And yet, civilisation scales.

Societies, economies, organisations. All built on systems, technologies and tools that minimise the need for personal trust as human groups grow.

Money is trust made transferable. Not necessarily worth anything on its own, we trust that we can exchange it in future for other things we value more.

Law replaces personal reputation with enforceable contracts. Fair, just systems reduce the chaos of individual whims, making cooperation possible.

Organisational hierarchies let us assume those above us know what they’re doing, saving us from questioning every decision.

These systems are trust’s scaffolding, holding things together—until they don’t.

When trust erodes, cracks appear.

A leader who stops listening. A legal system that feels rigged. A plummeting currency. Unjust systems, unclear expectations, or broken promises corrode trust like rust on steel.

The moment we lose faith in the system, uncertainty rushes back in.

And trust, once broken, is hard to rebuild.

Rules can be rewritten, contracts renegotiated, but trust is earned slowly and lost quickly. The challenge isn’t just in creating trust, but also in sustaining it. In organisations, in institutions, in relationships. 

The work of trust never ends.

Scaling trust isn’t easy. But it’s how we move forward. It's the foundation for navigating a world too big to manage alone.

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