Understanding the Impact of Inequality, Fragmentation, and Trust

🔑 Income and wealth inequality, fragmentation, and trust are interconnected.

📊 Quantification is important to determine the gradients in inequality, fragmentation, and their impact on trust, governance, and growth.

🌍 Different measures are available based on the focus of inequality, whether it's general, extreme polarization, mixed populations, or geographic separation.

📊 Surveys confirm that different fragmentation indices and different samples of countries yield different results when analyzing trust.

🔍 Focus on the mechanisms through which inequality and fragmentation affect trust levels, rather than relying solely on statistical analysis.

💰 Income and wealth inequality can impact trust levels in society.

👥 In a society with high inequality, there is a sense of powerlessness and resentment towards the rich, leading to disengagement from civic organizations.

🤝 In more equal societies, there is a sense of mutual recognition and a shared fate, which promotes common action and problem solving, fostering trust.

🌍 Fragmentation caused by differences in material cultures, languages, and exposure to political messages can inhibit trust and communication among different groups.

📑 Cultural differences hinder trust building and perpetuate inequality.

✝️ Religious teachings promote trust through emphasis on generosity and reciprocity.

🚫 Religious teachings can create divisions between believers and non-believers, impacting trust.

🔑 Outsiders reinforce bonding trust over bridging trust.

💡 Distrust and suspicion exist among members of different belief systems.

🌍 Inequality and diversity can be influenced by historical, cultural, and societal factors.

🌍 Geographical considerations influenced linguistic diversity and ethnic identity formation.

🗺️ National borders drawn by Imperial powers led to ethnic differences within countries.

⚖️ Colonial institutions favored certain tribes and settlers, impacting ethnic divisions.

🌍 International comparative data is needed to integrate income and wealth inequality with diversity and inequality in society.

🤝 Trust is closely related to governance, and its impact on economic growth, welfare, and prosperity.