One of the buzzy management theories of the 1980s was “just-in-time” manufacturing. Components would arrive moments before assembly, saving on the cost of stockpiling parts. Anthony Seldon has applied a similar approach to his latest book, Trust: How We Lost It and How to Get It Back. Helped by an “inner team” of eight undergraduates, Seldon researched and wrote the book in seven weeks flat, during the summer break from his day job heading Wellington College.

On the basis of this volume, there’s something to be said for just-in-time publishing. There are some weak points, including an overview of philosophical approaches to trust that reads like a B-minus undergraduate essay. Occasionally, the joins between the cut and paste are visible. But as a summary of the available evidence on levels of trust in politics, the media, business and society generally, the volume succeeds in fine style.

Seldon and his team are wise enough to know that trust and trustworthiness do not always go hand in hand. The banks were among the most trusted institutions in the land in 2007 — and look how that worked out. The Seldonians also correctly doubt the most gloomy analyses, suggesting that Britain is “broken”. But there is clearly an issue here. Most people no longer believe that their fellow Britons can “generally be trusted”, and this mistrust imposes economic and social costs. The question is whether anything can be done about it. The Seldonians stress that trust is “innate” and “intrinsic”. We can’t pass a law instructing people to trust each other more. So there is a danger that volumes like this end up, in the words of the philosopher Jon Elster, simply “willing that which cannot be willed”.

There are moments of pure exhortation — “this book calls powerfully for intrinsic trust to be developed across British society” — and some untethered demands: “Scouts, Guides and similar youth organisations should be available in every community.” Since these are voluntary organisations, it is hard to know what this “should” really amounts to.

But Seldon has one big proposal: a year of compulsory national service for all 18-year-olds. Participants would engage in four activities during the year: army training, environmental work, care for the elderly, and “learning social and practical skills, including making clothes, growing food, building furniture, leadership and emotional intelligence”. There are plenty of questions about such a scheme, but at least Seldon is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Well, our money anyway: he admits the scheme would cost the Treasury “tens of billions”. This will be a tough sell in the current economic climate, but perhaps good value if, as Seldon claims, it would be “the making of a more trusting and trustworthy Britain”.

Seldon’s analytical chapters, though, suggest that it is national peril rather than national service that generates trust. The world wars created generations with high levels of trust in each other, and more “social capital” in the form of civic and neighbourly ties. “Do we need wars and a common enemy to nurture our communities?” Seldon asks. Yes — according to the latest research of Robert Putnam, the American academic who has closely studied social capital and trust, most notably in his book Bowling Alone. Putnam’s latest work shows a remarkable rise in levels of trust and social connection in the USA since a particularly memorable date: September 11, 2001. A war against terror, it seems, can bring a nation together better; a salutary reminder that while trust is valuable, it is not the greatest good.

Richard Reeves is the director of Demos.

Trust by Anthony Seldon
Biteback £8.99 pp256

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