We all depend in our social, business, financial, and political affairs, on a shared currency of trust. But we have somehow devalued this currency and breaches of public trust have recently grown to epidemic proportions. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, is perhaps the most worrying example of this, with unfounded statements and poorly researched policies the hallmark of his administration. …
Distrust in institutions is hardly a new problem. Historically, institutions and their representatives have been able to suppress the instability arising from distrust of them by using fear and censorship. Charles II famously banned coffee houses on the grounds that they were meeting places for dissenting intellectuals. Institutions in modern democracies cannot use such tactics; instead, they must rely on persuasion to keep the public onside. CONT.
Isabelle Stanley & Rod Dowler, LSE Business Review