by Keisha Taylor
Dr. A.H. Rinnoy Kan, Chairman of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands, gave an interesting speech on the Role of civil society in supporting trust in political decision making at a conference on ‘Democracy and Trust’ that is worth a read. How good is trust? Measuring trust and its role for the progress of societies is also an interesting paper recently published by the OECD. Today, citizens want to feel like their opinion matters and they want access to information, which can help them make better decisions. How do CSOs respond to this? Well their role is extremely important, though often underestimated when examining the politics and economics of trust. Trust in the ability of CSOs to deliver can lead more citizens to lend their support by volunteering or/and giving, which may have the knock on effect of contributing to the development of social cohesion and social capital.
Tagged: Civil Society Organisations, democracy, economics of trust, politics of trust, social capital
