Cycles of Change

Marriage functions as a system where two people manage a large number of shared tasks. For the relationship to remain viable, a high level of trust must exist across every area of interaction. The following breakdown shows the mechanism that determines whether these interactions sustain or destroy [...]

Complex societies operate through multi-party transactions that require trust to function. When trust degrades, these systems do not fail linearly. They collapse multiplicatively. Understanding this mechanism explains why institutional decay accelerates during periods of social upheaval and why [...]

We are watching the end of a long cycle. For decades, we lived in a world where trust was abstract. We trusted banks because of their marble lobbies. We trusted universities because of their ivy walls. We trusted currency because of the government seal on the paper. This was a time of high social [...]