Skip to main content

Thoughts on intangible wealth

Last night, amongst many things, my friend Inayat and I discussed trust. It made me think of an article I read in 2007 about the world's intangible wealth.

Trust - definition aside - seems to be an important indicator of intangible wealth, value that is not accounted for in our conventional methods of economic transactions and accounting.

Trust within both the public and the private sectors, across any hierarchy in any form of institution.

Essentially, if there is lack of trust within the hierarchies, civil society suffers as a whole. If there is a solid level of trust, civil society gains.

Now, some organizations, indeed nation states, may find ways of enforcing trust, for example, through market-based contracts with liability clauses, or through the arm of the law.

Other organizations, such as in those developing countries that experience severe corruption, would need to rely on a high levels of unaccounted-for trust to get work done.

Of course, organizational behaviour is also dependent on space and time, so things could be different when taking a closer look. But in general, trust is integral to civil society. It is the lifeblood of the relations we have with each other. No lifeblood, no relations, no peace.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tanzania is not Tasmania

Dear friends: Please let's stop refering to Tanzania as Tasmania. Here is why. Tanzania is located on the coast of East Africa, below Kenya. It is not origin of the the cartoon character from your childhood. Tasmania is an island which is part of Australia. The animal known to exist only on Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil. Once again, you will see this is not the cartoon character you remember from your childhood. Let's summarize: Tanzania is not Tasmania.
Post a Comment
Read more

Policy Brief 2: Why is Tanzania Poor?

(Policy Brief # 2 Submitted December 6th 2007, for Econ 346 - Economic Development, Lafayette College) Over the course of the 20th century, Tanzania experienced a multitude of social, political and economic changes. It still remains poor today. The WorldBank classifies a ‘low income country’ – such as Tanzania – as one with a Gross National Income per capita of $905 or less (WorldBank Data 2006). As of 1992, Tanzania ’s per capita income was recorded at $110, and average per capita consumption was $0.5 per day (OECD 2000). Several possible factors have been blamed for contributing to current hardships, such as Julius Nyerere’s failed attempts to collectivize agriculture between 1961 and 1975 through his socialist Ujamaa policies as the first president of Tanzania (Pratt 1980). While pre-independence plans “focused on the commercialization of agriculture and the creation of industries that could reduce the need for a variety of imports”, post-independence interventions by the Gov
4 comments
Read more

Wake Up Routine

What's that unearthly sound? Turn off the alarm. Snoozing is dope. Shit, I have to get to work. What time is it? Let's have some water.  Let's stand outside for a minute. Send out today's assignments. How is my family? Has mum had her meds and breakfast? Where's my chai? Do I need a car today? Are there any fires burning? Who is that calling, I just got here! OK, let's start the day. 
Post a Comment
Read more