David Graeber in Debt: The First 5000 Years posits that debt and credit appeared before money or barter. These are things that can exist only meaningfully in a

David Graeber in Debt: The First 5000 Years posits that debt and credit appeared before money or barter. These are things that can exist only meaningfully in a society with some degree of trust. I haven't evaluated the truth of this yet, but I'm firmly of the belief that high-trust societies will be economically prosperous and that there is a feedback loop at work here that starts with high trust enabling business and social interactions. Like other commenters here, I'm from South Asia, and this is one of the most significant differences I've noticed from my home country (India). No-questions-asked return policies make my life so much easier and not having to share the store with too many unethical people makes this possible.