Anyone who has money has no need, in that respect, to trust others. Generalized trust in the institution of money, then, replaces, through one all-inclusive act, the countless individual, difficult demonstrations of trust which would be necessary to provide a sure foundation for life in a co-operative society.

DEFINE: This passage defines 'generalized trust' in institutions as a functional replacement for the many individual demonstrations of trust that a cooperative society would otherwise require.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 214