The Idea of High Trust is Traitorous and Irresponsible

 Star trek is the idea that a Communist money-free society will work perfectly provided everyone acts like specifically englishmen in the presence of money.

 The idea of a [[high-trust]] society is that some societies will act like punishments exist (https://twitter.com/MsMelChen/status/1569823342852542468) even if they don't.

 The worst part is that these things are provisionally true. Habits take a while to change. There's inertia. If you remove the responsibility, most will act like the responsibility is still there, because they're too stupid and cowardly to notice it's gone. 

 

 The source of a [[high-trust]] society is one where stealing a loaf of bread carried the death sentence. Everyone who wasn't trustworthy was killed. (Especially, for example, luddites.) Given the results, we can safely conclude the punishment in fact does fit the crime. Rather than a mere six weeks in jail, can dude should have had his neck broken.

 The source of a [[high-trust]] society is one where 1% of the population is executed per year. That's 1000 per 100,000. Annually. Let's imagine high schools existed back then (another reason they could afford trust and we can't). You turn 40, and go to your high school reunion. Consider that 1% of the broad population is more like 2% of the high-crime 18-35 age band, and 0% outside it. What is 20 years of 2% executions per year? Your random math class of 30 students would have had 10 fatalities. Only 20 left. 

 That's what it means to be [[[[high-trust]]]]]. 

  Not stealing a loaf of bread isn't especially hard. They had soup kitchens back then too. If you need food, sure the food sucks, but it exists, it's free. A fortiori, pity is a thing. Ask around enough and some bleeding heart will hire you out of pity. Etc. Someone stealing has passed up all these opportunities. Crime always comes from envy, not need. If you live in a society with the death penalty for stealing and you do it anyway, it demonstrates an exceptional love of crime. Even under [[compassionate]] modes of thinking, there is no excuse for letting a bread (or soda) thief live.
 Letting them live is only done because even thieves pay taxes. Public costs, private profits. Secondarily black government is inherently criminal, and they feel spiritual fellowship with the lawbreaker. Hanging bread thieves and not hanging mayors or mandarins is plainly incoherent. (Nearly everyone untrustworthy was killed.) Running for public office is a capital crime. Absolute treason. If you tolerate treason regularly, what foot do you have to stand on to condemn rape or murder? None, and the result you see before you.

 

 Hundreds of years of insufficient execution and insufficient child mortality has increased the criminal rate, so in modern times you would be lucky if 15 survived.

 Or rather, you're incredibly unlucky, because it's likely all 30 survived. Which is why you can't have nice things. Can't afford it, due to carrying the excess, despicable 15. Bonus: they will breed more than you, meaning next generation it should be 18 executions per 30. Then there's immigration from countries with low-execution histories...

 "But alrenous, the black government was the one doing the executions." Indeed. It was buffered by the fact it was mainly local lords rather than the central pillar, but nevertheless. You can tell they were executing the wrong edge cases, because they stopped. Good law deals well with hard cases, and it turns out the law was not good. Allegedly some 12-year-old was executed, which caused successful calls for the end of the death penalty. If they were doing it right, this would never have happened. If they were almost doing it right, they would have executed everyone who called for its end, to thunderous cheers. 

 Some women called for the end of the death penalty. It's easy to see why: they thought their own sons would be caught stealing and get executed.
 Step 1: respect women. Believe them. Affirm their lived experience.
 Step 2: snap their fucking necks. Like breaking a toothpick.  Be rational and serious about it. Feeble hearts birthing feeble sons can go and stay go.

 The dead don't pay taxes. Europe disregarded this fact to a degree because the communities who suffered the depredations of criminals were also responsible for executions. The fruits of buying and selling political rights, such as the right to hang thieves. Which is how they ended up with a population capable of conquering china. Did not, however, disregard it enough, and the result you see before you.