Being aware of quite a bit of economics and having developed a
love for numbers, I thought I could derive an empirical proof of the most overused word of mine - Trust or Faith. Obviously, I am a rational person, at least so to say! This led me into
thinking - What is it that creates trust? And the first thing that comes
to my mind is - encapsulated interest. I trust you because I think it is in
your interest to take care of my interests. Can profitability be the sole
motive of trust? In The Brothers Karamazov, Trifonov is honest to Lt. Colonel
so long as the illegal business has to go on. But as soon as he realizes about
the last transaction, he refuses to return the 4500 roubles to Lt. Makes sense,
no? Isn't that the reason why people serving their notice period or managers
right before their retirement stage, work less? This analysis is flawed
somewhere. Because somebody might be trustworthy in the strong sense that they
would reciprocate even when it's against their interests in the rational sense
of cost-benefit analysis. And here I've an argument - Trust, may be, requires
something more than rational reasons. Intuitively correct, it doesn't seem to
fantasize me. Can this more be quantified? Okay, may be qualitatively
specified?
And
then while I was thinking hard, came my father, with apples cut in the plate and
a fork next to it (I know he's not very fond of "peeling the apple
job" and requests mom when he wants one for himself) which he offered me
to eat with his ever so beautiful smile and a lovely Good night. It was then I
realized that the rational analysis of trust was so very irrational in itself,
until I consider an element of "Well-being". It might be my interest
to earn more money, to get a better job but the happiness I obtain from that
"more money" in the form of, say buying a better car, actually gets
realized when I drive with my loved ones in that car to India Gate and spend
the beautiful moments of my life. I might enjoy a lovely dinner, but I might
enjoy it more with you. And so, came to my mind that when I say "trust
encapsulated in mutual interests", it's just a proxy, or rather a poor
proxy for "all that matters to me" and that certainly is much more
meaningful than just interests. And while trust for a moment might seem to be rationally motivated by rational expectations, it's the respect that makes that trust sustainable and love that makes that trust meaningful - the three elements of a beautiful life.