Anthony Seldon has a well-deserved reputation as a leading educationist and historian. As former head of Brighton College and now principal of Wellington College, his own experience is rooted in the private sector, but his contribution to the education debate has a relevance and an impact that extends beyond. His recent commentaries on Tony Blair’s premiership, The Blair Effect and Blair Unbound, will no doubt be among the list of books that future political historians will wish to study.
This latest book is an audit and analysis of the state of trust in our society today. The body of the book looks at seven areas of activity – from government to religion – and asks if, and how, trust has been lost and how it might be recovered.
Seldon then seeks to construct a model of trust which he argues should underpin the way we live our lives and run our society and its institutions; he proposes that the ‘Trust Test’ should be the measure by which all actions are assessed. ‘An action that detracts from or destroys trust is an action that has failed the TT. This trust relates not only to other individuals and organisations … but also with future generations and organisations.’
The Trust Test does have an attraction. It is based on the belief that human beings are inherently good and trustworthy; that as individuals we can influence the world in which we live and that if institutions trust individuals it will bring out the best in them. It conceives of empowering individuals while emphasising the responsibility this places upon them. As criteria for how we measure how we’re doing as human beings, the Trust Test has a lot to recommend it.
The challenge of the book is to persuade the reader that its model of trust can be the engine that not only rebuilds confidence and optimism between people, but can shape the services we need and the institutions or social organisations that deliver them. As Seldon notes, trust is vital but we also need competence – good schools and healthcare, safe streets and a sense of values in our homes and communities.
I share Seldon’s optimism about human nature and it is uplifting to be reminded that cynicism isn’t a non-negotiable presence in our lives. He argues the case effectively for an active citizenship, for the promotion of wellbeing, for the teaching of values and the importance of quality of life.
Yet the book isn’t convincing in its analysis of our present difficulties and it fails to address some of the issues and contradictions that could arise from the proposed solution.
The book claims to cut across the old political polarities and to define the political debate in fresh terms. Yet fundamentally, it seems to centre around two existing political themes. The first is anti ‘big government’ and the second an argument for a quality of life agenda rather than one which emphasises quantity of provision.
The evidence and examples used to reach these conclusions are less than convincing. Too many of them seem merely current topics of debate. The question of A-level standards; quiz fixing in the media; the spread of MRSA in hospitals. Others are too selective: noting the gap in attainment between private and state schools, but not the rise in standards across the country; bemoaning targets in the health service but ignoring the resulting drop in waiting times. The last 12 years of Labour government are brushed away as failed opportunities with no serious consideration of the achievements.
Given the book seeks a radical change in the way we run our society, I wouldn’t have expected too many words in defence of its present institutions, but the book fails to explore some of the present dilemmas in more than a superficial way.
It rightly argues for devolving power and trust, but barely addresses the disparity in provision this can bring. It talks about local control, but offers no ideas about how we can give less confident communities the skills and confidence to use the power effectively. It acknowledges the change that the 24-hour media has brought to politics, but misses a chance to explore how it could be used to enhance localism.
Trust is indeed the pressing issue of our time and Seldon’s book contributes to the debate. It is rich in statistics and the chapter on what political philosophy can teach us about trust and human nature is compelling reading. Yet for those of us who want to believe that devolution and localism can empower individuals and communities without a return to the mass inequality that used to mark our society, it offers little that is new.
Trust was written by Seldon, together with a group of eight young people, over a matter of weeks in the summer. The perspectives and insights of these young adults are invaluable, but it is difficult to avoid the feeling that, had more time been taken, the formulaic feel of some of the chapters in the book could have been avoided and the more difficult issues addressed.