Comparison:
Trust acts as both glue and grease. It glues together bonds of cooperation, while at the same time it greases the flows of people, products, capital and ideas from one country to the next. Remove trust and [trade and manufacturing] ecosystems start to collapse.
Thomas Friedman cites an Oxford University scholar concerning old-school understandings of economic and trade systems which fail in addressing the complexity of the exchange of raw materials, components, and final products. Our hyper-connected 21 Century format for constructing everything from cars to smart phones to microchips is at risk if misunderstood by leaders and policy makers. Glue and grease, not often thought of together, work in this verb-based metaphor signaling that both cohesion and smooth flow are necessary.
Context:
If you stand back and look at the big sweep of economic history, [Oxford University economist Eric] Beinhocker explains, ‘it is really a story of scaling up our networks of cooperation to harness and share knowledge to make more complex products and services that give us higher and higher standards of living. And if you are not part of these ecosystems, your country will not thrive.‘
And trust is the essential ingredient that makes these ecosystems work and grow, Beinhocker adds. Trust acts as both glue and grease. It glues together bonds of cooperation, while at the same time it greases the flows of people, products, capital and ideas from one country to the next. Remove trust and the ecosystems start to collapse.
Citation:
Friedman, Thomas L. “Why Trump’s Bullying Is Going to Backfire.“ New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025. Web.
(Image design by Lee Aigue; base images courtesy of Bing Feb. 2025.)
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