We can rebuild social trust, but it won’t be easy

We are witnessing an unprecedented drop in social trust in America. This lack of trust is directed toward other people and the government. Social Trust began to decline in the United States in the mid-1970s, after Watergate, and it has gotten significantly worse in the last decade. The Pew Research Center has established that in 2024, social trust was at a mere 34 percent, and some studies put it as low as 20%. Aristotle said it long ago. We are political beings. We are happier and more likely to achieve our full potential when we live and work together with others in political communities. Our political life needs social trust to survive. Laws by themselves will not hold us together. And placing soldiers in our cities will only make things worse. What is social trust? Kevin Valier, a professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University, points out that it is not the same as interpersonal trust. As individuals, we all have a few people with whom we are very close — friends and/or family. Some of them we trust absolutely. We tell them our secrets, our hopes and fears. We know theyWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times