The Thing About Trust

Trust is having the worst year ever. People are losing confidence in some of society's most foundational institutions, from news media to education, corporations, and politics. The cost of this erosion might be higher than we’re willing to pay.

Take the Supreme Court, for example. The court was once considered a stalwart of the American conscience. In a polarized political divide, it was possibly the last bastion of neutrality. But today's reality paints a different picture. According to a recent Pew study, favorability of the Supreme Court has hit historical lows. People don't trust, so they don't buy into it.

Likewise, trust in higher education is on the decline. There used to be a time when a four-year colleague degree assured a life of promise—a job, social mobility, higher earning potential, and higher overall life satisfaction. However, rising costs, a challenging job market, and evolving perceptions of success have caused many to question the ROI of college. The growing skepticism of higher education has led to a decrease in student enrollment. People don't trust, so they don't buy.

Society relies on trust to function. When people lose trust in bedrock institutions, it undermines social cohesion and weakens our ability to cooperate. And that's critical because we, as a species, evolved due to our ability to socialize and engage in collaborative work. It probably comes as no surprise that this congress is counted among the least productive in American history because one side doesn't trust the other. If we don't trust, we don't build.

Don’t even get me started on the lack of trust surrounding today's technological advances like AI-deep fakes. We don’t even trust what we see. This is the cost of declining confidence, and the price point is steep. When we distrust, we disengage—we don't buy, and we don't buy in. The impact of this erosion is significant and wide-reaching, leaving reverberating effects on society, our economy, and our health, which could leave life as we know it in disarray.

I'm sure none of us want that existence. We don’t want to be part of that kind of culture, trust me.