tbc0's posterous

Remembering Geoffrey Chaucer today, the anniversary of his death, I read a summary of the Franklin's Tale. I'm struck by the role honor - in the sense of keeping one's word - has had on the shape of Western civilization. "My word is my bond," the noble have declared throughout the centuries. "On my honor," I pledge as an Eagle Scout.

This, in turn, reminded me of how a weak cousin of honor, trustworthiness, is examined in Matt Ridley's book, The Rational Optimist, which I recently finished reading. His thesis is that human progress has been driven by our unique ability to specialize our production, which then frees us to expand the variety of our consumption. He opens with a quote from Adam Smith. Condensed, it reads, "The division of labour is the necessary consequence of the propensity to barter and exchange one thing for another." Ridley presents the entire history of trade, starting with archaeological evidence, reaching all the way back into prehistory. One quote, from Chapter One: "Exchange is to cultural evolution as sex is to biological evolution."

The word "honor" spawned the word "honesty." Today we think of an honest person as a trustworthy person. Oddly, neither "honor" nor "honesty" appear in Ridley's book. Not once. Believe me. I searched the ebook. However, he does emphasize how trust is essential to make a system of exchange possible. Trust is fleeting. One can trust for the duration of a transaction. But honor runs deep by definition. It invokes images of legacy that spans generations. We inherit the honor and priviledge of a family name such as Windsor or Kennedy. Or we suffer under the dishonor of a name such as Madoff.

So visit the link above to read a summary of the Franklin's Tale, and take a moment to remember the contribution of Chaucer to our concept of honor.