Lack of trust creates a US more like Iron Curtain countries
In a society characterised by scepticism over institutions and despair for the future among young and old, citizens feel like outsiders, huddled in like-minded circles that reaffirm biases, writes Janine Wedel
A crisis of public confidence in civic institutions — including governments, legislatures, courts and the media – is a central factor in the rise of Donald Trump and figures like him around the world. And so long as the crisis persists, such leaders will continue to resonate with voters, regardless of electoral outcomes. The crisis is not new. A 2007 study, commissioned for a UN forum, showed a pervasive pattern: in the course of the past four decades, nearly all the so-called developed, industrialised democracies have been experiencing a decrease in the public trust in government. In the 1990s, even countries long known for strong civic trust, such as Sweden and Norway, recorded a decline. In the US, Gallup’s latest survey of confidence in institutions shows double-digit percentage declines in trust since the 1970s (or the earliest available measurement) for 12 of 17 institutions including banks, Congress, the presidency, schools, the media and churches. Of the remaining institutio...
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