Cultures that dislike diversity are pretty low-trust. Russia, North Korea, Iran ...

thewebguyd · 2025-12-04T19:48:12 1764877692

There are also cultures that aren't very diverse that are pretty high-trust: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Japan, even China.

Which goes to say, diversity likely has very little to do with whether a society is low-trust or high-trust. It's more about politics and policy.

baumy · 2025-12-04T20:09:58 1764878998

This doesn't seem like a conclusion that's supported by the available evidence.

We have examples of homogeneous cultures that are high trust, and ones that are low trust.

We have examples of diverse cultures that are low trust, but none that I'm aware of that maintain high trust over time.

The best fitting hypothesis would be that homogeneity is necessary but not in itself sufficient for a high trust culture to be built.

quantified · 2025-12-04T23:39:53 1764891593

Diversity is relative. The difference between Irish and English ancestry created low trust in the mid-1800s USA but is fairly irrelevant today. Trust grew over time.

rendang · 2025-12-04T19:43:25 1764877405

I think the user you replied to is referring to things like the Putnam findings on the effects of diversity https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FvFN8ACY6taivkcbzDGgYy1-EPb...

nxor · 2025-12-04T19:48:22 1764877702

Also relevant: https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/americans-trust-in-on...