The Confidence-man: His Masquerade | 
“'Confidence is the indispensable basis of all sorts of business transactions. Without it, commerce between man and man, as between country and country, would, like a watch, run down and stop.' This is absolutely true and of crucial importance for the State, both economic and moral, of any society. You simply cannot have a society—or indeed a life—founded on mistrust.
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Blind Confidence, of course, has its vulnerabilities as it has its generosity. But some degree of trust is essential for any possibility of fruitful human relationship. 4y
— Intro of The Confidence-Man by Herman Melville
xxviii Tony Tanner 4y