How mistrust explains all those frustrating things about US politics
by Mark Sappenfield
Mar 11, 2024
3 minutes
If you don’t think trust is important, take a look at Sicily. Yes, the birthplace of the Mafia. Shocking as it may seem, the Mafia was not created at the behest of Oscar-hungry Hollywood directors. It emerged because of a complete lack of trust.
Ignored by imperial rulers and gripped by a collapse of law and order, Sicilians turned to local power brokers. Want to sell a cow and you don’t trust the buyer? The Mafia arose as the answer to this problem, multiplied hundreds of times over.
It’s a story author Ethan Zuckerman tells in his most
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