Globalization: Civilizing or destructive? An empirical test of the international determinants of generalized trust

Abstract

Does globalization encourage and facilitate the development of generalized trust, or does it, on the contrary, foster mutual suspicion and distrust? This question preoccupied intellectual elites during the early phases of expansion of world markets, and it has become once again relevant in the context of contemporary globalization. This article proposes a sociological redefinition of this question by distinguishing between different aspects of globalization (economic competition and cultural embeddedness in the world polity) and specifying how those aspects affect trust. Using hierarchical models with individual and cross-national data from the World Values Survey and other sources on 41 countries for the 2005-2008 period, the article finds empirical support for the propositions that globalized competition decreases generalized trust in the countries most exposed to it, while competitiveness in prestigious cultural activities (such as scientific production) increases generalized trust.How does globalization affect social trust -the way, that is, that people relate to others they do not know? The history of this question is long and distinguished: in the 15th and 18th centuries, as international trade expanded, intellectual elites worried about how manners and mores would be affected -how, that is, people would interact with others they were previously unacquainted with, when the opportunities for such interactions suddenly seemed more open (Hirschman, 1977(Hirschman, , 1982. Two contradictory accounts emerged from these debates, and to this day continue structuring the analysis of globalization's impact on trust: on the one hand, globalization is understood to be integrative and civilizing, increasing people's mutual dependence on others, and leading to greater social trust; on the other hand, globalization is perceived as destructive and threatening, making people vulnerable to forces beyond their control, and thus affecting social trust negatively (Guillén,

Globalization, socio-economic status and welfare chauvinism: European perspectives on attitudes toward the exclusion of immigrants

“…In their work exploring whether people would like to have foreign workers as neighbors, Kaya and Karakoç (2012) show that more openness to international trade in a country increases anti-immigrant prejudice. Similarly Polillo (2012) finds that globalized competition undermines social trust. The still unresolved question is whether a similar effect of economic globalization can be found in relation to welfare chauvinism.…”

Economic Inequality Shapes the Relationship Between Globalization and Prejudice

“…Some research suggests that globalization may activate multiple social categories simultaneously and may result in more cognitive flexibility and openness and diminish intergroup prejudice (Chiu & Cheng, 2007;Crisp & Turner, 2011;Leung et al, 2008;Maddux & Galinsky, 2009;Paulus & Nijstad, 2003;Shrira, 2019;Shrira & Wisman, 2018). Other research, however, suggests that globalization may exacerbate perceived intergroup differences (Chiu et al, 2009) and increase intergroup prejudice (Kaya & Karakoç, 2012) and also erode trust (Polillo, 2012). The current work extends these findings by proposing a model that accounts for these different potential outcomes of globalization and highlighting the importance of economic inequality in determining the effects of globalization.…”

Economic globalization, inequality, and protest movements under capitalist political regimes, 1970–2007

“…health care, education, and social safety net), consolidating social distrust, and increasing incapacity in government (e.g. Brenner et al, 2010;Duménil and Lévy, 2011;Harvey, 2005;Polillo, 2012). Given this ordeal, people have no other choice but to revolt.…”