# Trust and Power

*Luhmann · Trust & Interpersonal, Power & Equity · Wiley · 1979*

A foundational sociological treatment of trust and power as mechanisms for reducing social complexity. Luhmann argues that trust is a means of coping with the irreducible uncertainty of social life: trusting someone means accepting vulnerability now on the basis of expectations about their future behaviour. Distinguishes between personal trust (based on familiarity and interaction history) and system trust (confidence in abstract systems and institutions). The relationship between trust and power is not oppositional but functional — both serve to reduce complexity, but through different mechanisms. Influential across sociology, political science and organisational theory.

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## Connected concepts (9)

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- [The Giving of Orders](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/follett-1926.md) (paper)
- [Typologies of Power](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/typologies-of-power.md)
- [Reducing Power Gradients](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/reducing-power-gradients.md)
- [The Dark Side of Trust](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/gargiulo-ertug-2006.md) (paper)