TRUST AS A PREREQUISITE FOR BUILDING A KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

Author: Ostrovska, I. Title: Source: Humanities and Social Sciences: Latvia (subtitle of issue: Latvia towards knowledge-based society: social and economic aspects), Volume 17, Issue 2 (Summer 2009), pages: 192-207 Keywords: Discipline: POLITICAL SCIENCES Language: ENGLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference: Abstract: The report by the European Commission's group of experts contains an appeal to take a knowledge-based society seriously; that might imply that such a society should be politicised. In other words, if a knowledge-based society gains the authority of a country's institutional component, it has to fulfil the following three essential requirements – reporting, representation and trust. In the context of developing a knowledge-based society, this article analyses trust in research and in those who report its results, namely, experts. It also analyses the causes of alienation and its manifestation as an integral part of society's political trust. The article analyses factors which determine the development of trust in societies in which consolidation of democracy is in the initial stage. On the basis of theoretical statements regarding strategic and moral trust, the role of general and particular trust in society's development, as well as the results of an opinion poll, the article explains the influence of trust on developing a knowledge-based society in Latvia.