I have argued here that experts and policymakers think of accountability in terms of information, whereas citizens think of it in terms of relationships. Giving people more information about things like public employees’ salaries, students’ test scores, or federal spending will not increase their trust if what they are looking for is contact (or a […]
If you mistrust the government but trust your fellow citizens, you may be drawn to political changes (such as referenda, campaign finance reform, or electoral reform) to increase the power of “the people,” collectively. That was the main trend of reform between 1890 and 1914. If you mistrust many of your fellow citizens but trust […]
In lieu of a post today, here is a link to my article on The Democratic Strategist, number six in a symposium on distrust in government, organized by Demos. The previous five contributions have been helpfully diverse, but all have shared the premises that: 1) deep distrust is an obstacle to progressive politics; 2) distrust […]
Whether you trust other people (in general) affects whether you collaborate voluntarily. Trust has been linked to prosperity, happiness, and health. It has been falling for young Americans–not in a smoothly downward path, but notably. And 2008 set the record, in a bad way, with just 21.4 percent of young Americans saying that other people […]
I was quoted on NPR’s Morning Edition earlier this week, commenting on a new Pew survey that finds 32 percent of young adults trust the federal government. That’s not exactly a resounding vote of confidence, but it’s much higher than the level of trust observed in older people today. For instance, just one in five […]