Trust and Social Distancing

Capitalism operates not only on greed but also on trust and other important social norms. The Father of Capitalism, Adam Smith, is famous for writing 'greed is good' in 1776 with his Wealth of Nations, but little known for writing "Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely" seventeen years earlier. In the economy, trust plays out in every transaction between individuals and companies. There are trivial examples like when we agree to pay for products before receiving them by delivery. We even trust we'll have the opportunity to return them with a full refund if we like. Trust is earned by being repeatedly honored. It can even be valued in billions of dollars for corporations.

But the virus itself and our containment methods have inflicted significant collateral damage on trust throughout society. In shops, restaurants, sidewalks, and everywhere else you can still encounter someone, the pandemic instills an air of suspicion over the presence of infection. Social distancing is necessary to keep ourselves safe because no one can truly be trustworthy - this virus spreads asymptomatically. If someone tells you they don't have the virus, you can't trust them unless they've been tested. International trust is also being badly damaged by the failure of the World Health Organization, the culpability of the Chinese Communist Party, and through harmful trade policies undertaken by many countries.

From my local neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, I've seen a woman cover up her dog's poop in a grocery store (Lockdown week one, even). Neighbors sometimes board the elevator in groups.
When I waited for the next one, someone inside the elevator said, "You're afraid of me?!" We have to have compassion for everyone because the pandemic is universally a difficult time and everyone has a different way of coping. We may or may not know someone who was infected or died and we will each chose a level of corona media coverage we can handle. Denial is one of the stages of grief that I also experienced when the world changed. We can be understanding and also keep ourselves safe from people who do not consider the virus a very serious threat. Individuals with that attitude are more likely to be infected than others.

We are re-establishing our boundaries and norms around public etiquette and personal space. We can call it a "cultural revolution" when we want to make it sound communist, but personal space norms are a typical part of any society. They should change when a new disease emerges even in a capitalistic free society. Practicing good hygiene by washing hands, not touching unnecessary objects in public, wearing masks and gloves, and keeping 6 feet distance when possible shows other people that we value their health. This is sign of respect which will be the basis for trust when it's reciprocated. Call it a virtue signal. It is, and not virtue alone, this time it's also anti-virus.

Social distancing needn't be government intervention into the market when we use it to voluntarily fill the gap between private and social benefits. To the extent that we don't become adopters, we're understandably a physical threat to those around us - government or no government.