人与人之间信任的重要作用

Think of your family or friends. 想想你的家人或者是朋友。 How well would those relationships work without trust -- or with a broken trust? 没有信任，或者说是信任不再，你们之间的关系怎么维持？

Recently, Forbes magazine declared Tiger Woods the first athlete to reach one billion dollars in career earnings. 最近，福布斯杂志宣布泰格?伍兹是首位职业收入达10亿美元的运动员。 That includes winnings, appearances, product endorsements and more. 其中包括赢得比赛，出场费，产品代言和其他方面的收入。

The Associated Press just voted him "athlete of the decade." 美联社评选伍兹为“十年最佳运动员”。 But more than half the votes arrived before his private life hit the news. 但是超过半数选票都来自他的私生活丑闻曝光之前。 The young golfer has admitted being unfaithful to his wife and family. 这位年轻的高尔夫运动员承认自己对妻子和家庭不忠。 Public opinion of him has fallen. 他的公众形象一落千丈。 Some companies have removed him from their advertising. 有些公司已经不再让他代言广告。 Tiger Woods is now taking what he calls "an indefinite break from professional golf." 现在，泰格?伍兹宣布“无限期退出职业高尔夫球赛”。

Trust also plays into much bigger issues, like reaching a climate change agreement or reforming a health care system. 在许多更大的问题上，信任也非常重要，例如达成气候变化协议或医疗体系改革。

Two different researchers have recently studied the effects of trust within countries. 两名研究人员最近研究了国家之间相互信任的作用。

Pelle Ahlerup is an economics researcher at Sweden's University of Gothenburg. Pelle Ahlerup是哥德堡瑞典大学经济学研究人员。 His research suggests that trust between people is more important in countries with a weak legal system. 他的研究表明，在司法体系薄弱的国家，人与人之间的信任更加重要。 And in societies where there is less trust between people, the quality of the legal system plays a larger part. 在人与人之间的信任比较少的国家，司法体系的质量起到更大的作用。

He says projects designed to increase interpersonal trust can have a major effect in poor countries with undependable legal systems. 他说，增加人与人之间的信任的项目对于司法体系不可靠的贫穷国家起到非常重要的作用。

Earlier research has shown that countries with greater trust between people generally do better in economic growth and other areas. 此前的研究表明，人与人之间信任更多的国家在经济发展和其他领域表现更好。 What about trust in government? 那么对政府的信任呢？ Could it even affect murder rates? 这会不会影响谋杀率呢？ A historian at Ohio State University argues

yes in a new book called "American Homicide." 俄亥俄州立大学一位历史学家在名叫“美国人的自杀”一书中给出了肯定的答案。

Randolph Roth studied homicide rates over the past four hundred years in parts of the United States and western Europe. Randolph Roth对过去400年间美国部分地区和西欧的自杀率进行了研究。 The Justice Department says rates in recent years fell to levels last seen in the middle of the nineteen sixties. 司法部门表示，近年来的自杀水平下降到了60年代中期的水平。 Still, murder rates in the United States have generally been among the highest among Western democracies since the middle of the nineteenth century. 然而，自19世纪中期以来，美国的谋杀率居所有西方民主国家的最高位。 Professor Roth says poverty and unemployment do not lead to higher murder rates. 教授表示，贫穷和失业并不一定导致更高的谋杀率。 Nor do stronger punishments and more police keep murder rates down. 更严厉的惩罚和更多警察维持治安也不一定使谋杀率下降。

He looked at murder among unrelated adults and found four things that relate to homicide rates. 他仔细观察了不同的成人之间的谋杀活动，发现四个与自杀率相关的因素。 One is a belief that a government is stable and that the justice and legal systems are fair and effective. 一是相信政府是稳定的，相信司法和法律体系是公平的，有效的。 Another is a feeling of trust in government officials. 另外一个是对政府官员的信任感。

The third factor is a sense of pride in country and unity with other citizens. 第三个因素是国家自豪感和与其他公民之间的团结。 And the fourth is a belief that a person's position in society is satisfactory and that getting respect does not require violence. 第四个是一个人相信自己的社会地位是令人满意的，获得别人的尊重不需要通过暴力。

When these feelings are strong, he says, murder rates are generally low. 他说，如果这些感觉比较强烈，谋杀率一般都比较低。 Rates are higher when people do not trust their leaders or feel protected or connected to society. 如果人们不信任他们的领导或没有安全感，或者与社会脱节，谋杀率比较高。 But Professor Roth says even the best political leaders cannot unite a country once a society's problems get out of control. 但是Roth教授表示，在社会问题超出控制的情况下，即使最优秀的政治领袖也难以将全国人民团结起来。