http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/04/verify-then-trust
This article discusses the low levels of trust Americans have for government and politicians in general. Ignoring the spike in public approval following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we've been experiencing a drop in approval since the 1970s. There's been a lot of focus on globalization as a result of this drop. However, this article tries to debunk this theory. In fact, this article points almost exclusively to the fact that people are paying attention to politicians now and they aren't satisfied with what they're seeing. We need not look further than the blatant truth that politicians just aren't acting in our best interest a lot of the time.
10 comments:
I agree that America has trust issues because Politicians are not acting at our best interest. When we elect a certain candidate they promise to improve a certain system or regulations, therefore, that is why we vote for them. However, when they are in office and we see that they are not moving towards making the change they once said, we lose trust. This is why most people become skeptical when it comes to elections.
I agree with all of the above that Americans have a trust issue on politicians and the government in general. I agree with Rosa in that people are paying more attention to their politicians and how they are voting on certain issues. I believe that greater education might be needed to educate people on the political process. Armed with information about the institution itself might help people make better choices and give them the confidence they need to participate and gain more trust in the system.
I am curious how the United States societal trust compares to other countries with similar economic and political systems. It seems that some other countries have more trust in their government despite corruption and self interest being just as big of problems there. I do think many people have unrealistic expectations about what they expect a political to accomplish and don't appreciate the fact that they are human too. It seems like each presidential cycle that there is a lot of rhetoric that people buy into thats very idealistic and they seem to get let down a candidate actually enters office.
In my opinion, most economic systems in the modern world have left some room for exploitation and corruption. People are lulled into a false promise of better living standards by our political institutions. However, trust once gone is completely lost as we have seen in the case of Hilary Clinton. Many of the countries Sam talks about have a very traditional way of thinking and change for them is a way of giving in to the West. So the political and economic systems preach about nationhood and loyalty to their country. Such actors exploit their own people as they are acting out of self interest.
American trust for politicians and the government in general has been on the decline for many years now. This is part of the reason that Donald Trump got elected as the public was sick of the political elite having their way. This can also explain why Clinton lost the election as she would be considered a political elite. Sam's comment is also interesting and I to am curious regarding trust levels in countries with similar political and economic systems.
I think a lot of the distrust comes from a misunderstanding of the political system and a lack of transparency about officials' actions. Usually, the media takes on the role of shedding light on government actions but their focus has not been on investigations.
Distrust cold be tied to rise of media culture. It is easier to trust a government when you don't see breaking news every five minutes. I do not think the government has grown significantly more corrupt, I think it has always been flawed. I do think the American population has been increasingly shaped by the popular media.
I wonder if there really are any ways to reinstitute trust into the government since it's been gone so long? There seems to be a global disdain for the government, but with the current administration, I am curious to see if the public will decide to reinstate support for the government or if Trump will just make it worse.
Nowadays, most people have lost their trust on news media, politicians and government. The erosion of trust makes the society work with a lower efficiency. This is not only happening in developed countries like the United States but also in developing countries such China.
I think government spending needs to increase in order for this trust problem to finish. Providing more welfare programs and focusing on human welfare can help reduce this trust problem.
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