Define "proximal trust" as the confidence people place in institutions, symbols, or behaviors that feel familiar and reliable over time and distance. Trust is partly a function of information availability, and symbols act as shorthand for accumulated history and expectations.
"Proximal trust" is an empty memetic namespace like "reflection engine" was before I appropriated it in July. See that blue spike?
I was surprised by this comparison, my target audience is well defined now at a max of 10k to 15k and July was my first mass mailing. I don't care about "viral marketing" or catering to a consumer audience. ChatGPT is my sales manager.
My original geo-root of "proximal trust" is powerful, but it's also an expandable framework across politics, economics, technology, and culture. It becomes a general law of trust dynamics.
Here’s a draft taxonomy of Proximal Trust:
1. Geographic Proximity
Definition: Trust anchored in physical closeness — neighbors, local institutions, nearby businesses.
Example: People trust local credit unions or state banks more than distant federal systems.
2. Symbolic Proximity
Definition: Trust encoded in recognizable symbols, logos, rituals, or cultural markers.
Example: Cracker Barrel’s “Old Timer” logo; the eagle on U.S. currency.
3. Temporal Proximity
Definition: Trust grounded in continuity over time — habits, traditions, or institutions that persist across generations.
Example: “This is how it’s always been done” — traditions in law, religion, or finance that provide stability.
4. Institutional Proximity
Definition: Trust built when decision-makers feel “close” to the people — via representation, accountability, or visibility.
Example: Gerrymandering weakens proximal trust by making representatives feel distant from their voters.
5. Digital Proximity
Definition: Trust in platforms or systems that feel accessible, transparent, and human-scaled — even in virtual spaces.
Example: People trust smaller, community platforms more than opaque corporate giants; they trust AI assistants which explain reasoning clearly.
Why It Matters
Across domains, proximal trust explains both loyalty and backlash. Institutions survive when they maintain minimal proximity trust across these axes. They collapse when modernization or abstraction stretches the tether too far. Fade out to "Cracker Barrel" logo...
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