Desillusioniertes Vertrauen – in ontogenetischer und geschichtlicher Perspektive

To be born means to be entrusted to others. On this basis, trust is first and foremost a mode of living with others (even anonymous others) which takes definite shape only when it appears to be weakened, doubtful, or even destroyed. In this case, mistrust raises the question how trust can get restored in order to stabilize social and political relations on which the state rests. In historical perspective, however, we are confronted with a radical desillusionment of trust that raises the question how the state can deserve our trust and how we are to avoid that mistrust reigns. The following considerations seek to make junctions plausible between the ontogenetic basis of trust on the one hand and the political precariousness of trust on the other hand.