Topic > Analysis of Democracy by John L Anderson - 1190

Talks about how we intrinsically recognize the laws and norms of society, even when we are not judged by members of society. I agree to a certain extent with this notion. I agree that trust is important, but I think it's a concept that teeters on the fence of our subconscious against doubt. We start to trust our society because of the laws in place. However, after someone breaks the law and has consequences, we slowly start to lose faith in the society we subconsciously believed in and the doubt increases a little. Let's take the example presented by Anderson in his article. Explain that we all know the rules of the road. If we see a stop sign and stop, we automatically know to stop, regardless of whether or not there are other cars. However, suppose a driver doesn't stop at a stop sign because he knows it's usually a quiet road, and actually speeds up. A pedestrian, knowing the same rule, assumes that the driver will stop because it is a stop sign. However, the driver, having not slowed down, accidentally runs over, killing the pedestrian. Following that incident, our trust in society decreases, but our desire to follow the rules increases. Even in our own laws. We purchase insurance while driving, not because we believe we are bad drivers, but because we believe others might be. As important as trust is, we take everything with caution,