Trust and Sustainable Agriculture: the Construction and Application of an Integrative Theory Michael Stanley Carolan Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2002 Trust and sustainable agriculture: the construction and application of an integrative theory Michael Stanley Carolan Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Carolan, Michael Stanley, "Trust and sustainable agriculture: the construction and application of an integrative theory " (2002). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 502. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/502 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mi 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Trust and sustainable agriculture: The construction and application of an integrative theory by Michael Stanley Carolan A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Sociology Program of Study Committee: Michael M. Bell (Major Professor) Steven Padgitt Vernon Ryan Lois Wright Morton Jannettte Thompson Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2002 UMI Number: 3073437 UMI UMI Microform 3073437 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Il Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation of Michael Stanley Carolan has met the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major rofessor Signature was redacted for privacy. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABSTRACT v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE—THEORY 15 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEWING THE LANDSCAPE OF TRUST 16 CHAPTER THREE: THE JOURNEY BEGINS— THE FOUR ATTITUDES OF TRUST 91 CHAPTER FOUR: THE DIALOGUE OF SOCIETY AND NATURE- TOW ARD A FOUNDATION OF RISK AND EVIDENCE 109 CHAPTER FIVE: THE INTRAPERSONAL DIMENSION OF TRUST 175 CHAPTER SIX: THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF TRUST 199 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE STRUCTURATIONAL DIMENSION OF TRUST 218 PART TWO—APPLICATION 243 CHAPTER EIGHT: SETTING THE STAGE 244 CHAPTER NINE: THE SOCIAL RELATIONS OF AGRICULTURE 265 CHAPTER TEN: THE STATE 308 PART THREE—SOME LAST WORDS 330 CHAPTER ELEVEN: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 331 BIBLIOGRAPHY 349 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The process of writing, while itself a solitary effort, is often times only the last phase of a process that involves many; such is the case with this work. I would like to, therefore, take this opportunity to thank those who have been there for me, and who have contributed tremendously (in each their own special way) to the development of this dissertation. I would first like to thank my parents, Clair and Faye Carolan; without your guidance, love, and affection (and, of course, patience) I would never have had the motivation to take my intellectual proclivities to their limits. I would also like to extend the warmest of gratitude to my committee members: Vem Ryan, Steve Padgitt, Lois Wright Morton, and Jan Thompson. Your insight, encouragement, and friendship (especially from you, Steve) have, without question, strengthened the quality of this work. I am also indebted to Arthur Mol. Since our first meeting at Cambridge England, your kindness and generosity have been unparalleled, and I am forever grateful for it. Thanks must also go out to all of those kind individuals who gave me their time, energy, and insights (and in some instances cookies, coffee, and the occasional fresh produce) through their participation in this research; without all of you, this dissertation would not have been possible. I reserve my deepest gratitude, however, for these last two individuals. First, Michael Bell: mentor, colleague, and dearest friend; may this work not represent an end, but rather the beginning of a lifelong friendship. And finally, Bel. Thank you for your patience and support, for your wonderful mind and kind heart; I could not have done this without you; you are my inspiration. To you all, I send my deepest gratitude and sincere thanks. V ABSTRACT This dissertation represents a journey into one of the most ubiquitous and complex of all social phenomena: trust. Within this text, a wide terrain of socio-theoretical phenomena is explored, ultimately leading us to an integrative theory of trust grounded within the social relations of everyday life. As I explain, trust is an essential component of all social relations; it is what gives social life life. To trust is to possess attitudes toward what we know that we do not know—attitudes that are present in most (if not all) moments of reflexive consciousness. As such, trust is also intricately tied to relations of power, knowledge, and identity. But this attitude of our knowledge of non-knowledge should not be understood as a unitary phenomena; rather, there are four such attitudes (or, if one prefers, four types of trust): simple trust, confidence, faith, and hope. These four attitudes of trust are distinguishable by varying perceptions of risk and evidence present in a situation, and which constitute the basis of my four-quadrant model of trust. This work is not, however, merely a theoretical exploration, but also a practical one. Consequently, following the theoretical exposition, attention is directed toward an empirical case study of agricultural social change—namely, the social movement of sustainable agriculture. The goal of merging theory and research in this manner is two-fold. First, to help illustrate and corroborate aspects of the preceding theoretical model, but also to gain insight into the driving empirical question. Specifically, the dissertation examines the relationship between landlords and tenants and how that relationship impacts the adoption or non-adoption of sustainable farming practices on rented land. The dissertation concludes by highlighting some possible conceptual implications of the theoretical model of trust on other contemporary theoretical frameworks, potential practical uses for the model itself, and a discussion of policies that vi could be implemented to promote sustainable agriculture in light of the preceding empirical analysis. 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION But, although trust is an obvious fact of life, it is an exasperating one...When we think about it, the obvious fact that, on the whole, we mange to live together in mutual confidence turns mysterious.—Martin Mollis 1998: 1-2 Trust, in the broadest sense of confidence in one's expectations, is a basic fact of social life.—Niklas Luhmann 1979: 4 To say that trust is a ubiquitous yet essential element of social life may seem a banal proclamation of the obvious. The problem resides, however, in that sometimes the most obvious are the least understood. Trust is like gravity: it's everywhere, vigilantly shaping our everyday lives with a silence that often leads us to forget its presence. We all know what it does, and can easily demonstrate to others how it works. Yet we are still left in want to understand the deeper meaning of what trust is. Peter Berger (1963) once wrote that the sociological perspective amounts to seeing the strange in the familiar. Looking at life sociologically requires looking at the banal and ubiquitous and "seeing" the myriad of complex webs that constitute it. Trust, it therefore seems, is the perfect candidate for the sociological perspective because it constitutes banality par excellence—to proclaim that one trusts is as banal a statement of the obvious as to say that one breathes. Yet one cannot deny the sociological importance of trust, a view that has not been lost on social theorists. As David Good (1988: 33) so plainly states, "without trust, the everyday social life which we take for granted is simply not possible." Indeed, "with a complete absence of trust... one could not even get out of bed in the morning" (Hardin 1993: 519). 2 Some have even proposed that trust is becoming more meaningful and pervasive as a result of the uncertain conditions of late, or reflexive, modernity (Giddens 1990; Giddens and Pierson 1998) and due to the increasing complexity of modern systems (Luhmann 1979). No one doubts the significance of trust to our social and ontological existence. Nevertheless, we have only begun to express a desire to understand it at its deepest theoretical levels. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the ongoing efforts to disentangle the problematics of trust with the intention of ultimately providing a deeper theoretical understanding of the concept. I do this by highlighting trust's inseparable interrelationship to power, knowledge, and identity. Indeed, as I will repeatedly argue, if one is to understand trust, one must understand the larger social matrixes in which trust is embedded—namely, power-knowledge-identity-trust.