Nine and a half million lawsuits in 2011, one for every five Spaniards. France, with 66 million inhabitants, registered only six million. Our Government is concerned, and announces measures to contain this judicial furor: the "Anti-litigation Decree Law", which with the figure of the mediator will save a lot of money in attorneys, and new fees to prevent abuses in access to justice.

The eagerness to litigate is an index of social crisis. When trust ceases to preside over social relations, lawyers and judges intervene. And trust becomes a "topic of actuality" precisely when it is lacking, as happens with the air we breathe. It seems evident that this is our case, in Spain and in the West in general. The financial and economic crisis we are suffering is, to a large extent, a crisis of confidence.

Navarra is weathering the crisis better than other autonomous communities, but as reflected in the recent wave of the Economic Climate Observatory CIES-Futuro Institution for Diario de Navarra, "the deterioration of confidence in institutions continues". There is an upturn in confidence in the new central government, which is logical -the new beginning is accompanied by positive expectations-, but all the other institutions fail. The trade unions, civil service examination and the banks are at the bottom of the ranking.

How to generate trust? How to overcome the divorce that seems to increasingly alienate citizens from their political class ? How to manage corporate reputation and other intangibles, which are so decisive when the products of the different brands are so similar?

We are well aware of the mechanisms that regulate trust in the psychological sphere. The first years of a person's life, when "original trust" is acquired, are decisive. If the baby finds a loving welcome, usually from the parents, it will feel secure and confident. When he grows up, the world will seem a familiar place to him and he will move in it without uneasiness, as if he were at home. On the contrary, if he experiences withdrawal or mistreatment, he will most likely be marked forever: he will perceive the world as threatening and dangerous, which may induce withdrawal or aggressive behaviors. And in the background, the idea that others cannot be trusted. Thus, we have young people and adults who are incapable of empathy and love, unable to put themselves in the other person's place. It is very difficult to overcome these basic deficiencies, although it is not completely impossible. In addition to receiving appropriate therapy, it is necessary to feel loved, the object of unconditional love.

How to regain confidence in social life, in Economics and in politics? The recipes are as simple to enunciate as they are difficult to put into practice internship: authenticity, coherence. Trustworthy actors are authentic. They do not lie, which does not prevent them from not saying everything they know in some cases - here is a classic challenge for all spokespersons subject . They are consistent. They deliver what they promise and, if they are unable to do so, they explain the reasons for non-compliance. People know how to make themselves position of circumstances that can produce unforeseen crises. These actors have no qualms about admitting their mistakes and asking for forgiveness. Doing so does not diminish their prestige, quite the contrary: a boss who recognizes that he is fallible reinforces his leadership in the eyes of his subordinates.

In conflict situations, when mistrust blocks dialogue between two opposing parties, who should take the first step and trust the other? The most powerful, which does not necessarily have to be the one higher up in the social hierarchy or in the chain of command. Hegel thematized this in his famous dialectic of the master and the slave: so many masters who would not know how to take a step without the help of the slave. In an increasingly global, flexible and virtual Economics like ours, many talented employees are becoming indispensable to their companies, which does not apply to the managers themselves.

It is simply a matter of trust, which often means eliminating control or supervision mechanisms, which are basically nothing more than institutionalized distrust. Those who trust may appear naïve and may sometimes be disappointed, but those who do not trust will always fail, whether as politicians or businessmen. This was the understanding of the Finnish authorities years ago, for example, when they decided to abolish school inspections. They trusted that teachers and school principals would be interested in doing their job well work. The results are plain to see: Navarra has had to send a delegation of experts to closely study the keys to the Finnish miracle educational .