Similarly, in Fig. 4 a statistically significant interaction effect is visible between
nativist resentment and bribery depending on the levels of trust. Individuals with high
universal trust, again depress the effect of nativist resentment on bribery while low trust
heightens these effects.
Conclusions
This study examined the impact of immigration on public attitudes such as
funding the welfare state and nativist resentment. The emphasis on nativist resentment
derives from the straightforward observation that if there is any visible erosion of the
willingness to support the welfare state as a result of immigration induced diversity, it
should manifest itself among those who elicit nativist resentment as a result of being
directly threatened by diversity. However, this study argued that nativist resentment
should be mediated by the level of trust in a given society and that the most relevant
measure of trust is one that captures the capacity of individuals to trust strangers, not
people who are like themselves. The assumption on which this argument rests is that trust
is a trait, not a state.
The findings suggest that universal trust matters. A sense of social solidarity and
fraternity is crucial for the maintenance of the welfare state. This chapter has
demonstrated that anomie is incompatible with the maintenance of a welfare state. This is
a significant finding particularly if viewed against the background of a growing
individualism in modern societies. These findings indicate that if such trends continue,
there will be very little support for the communal provision of social protection in the
future. Primordial trusters, i.e. people who trust only their family and their neighborhood,
Convention