I get what you're saying, but honestly, I feel like nowadays the paperwork and contracts are there precisely because trust alone doesn't always cut it. I've had friends burned by handshake deals gone wrong... sometimes formalities protect relationships rather than hide them.
Yeah, I see your point about paperwork protecting relationships—I've definitely seen handshake deals go south too. But it makes me wonder... back in ancient times, when formal contracts weren't always an option, how did people handle trust issues around debt? Did they have informal ways of keeping each other accountable, or was it mostly just social pressure and reputation at stake? I mean, it's not like they could just pull out a credit report or something. Makes me curious if they had their own version of "paperwork"—maybe witnesses or some kind of symbolic gesture to seal the deal. Anyone know more about how they managed trust without all the modern formalities?
Good points—it's interesting to think about how much we've come to rely on formalities. From what I've read, ancient societies often used:
- Witnesses from the community to confirm agreements.
- Symbolic gestures or tokens exchanged as proof.
- Public ceremonies or rituals to reinforce accountability.
Seems like reputation was everything back then...probably even more than today.
