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by wahern
2247 days ago
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Trust means that you also trust an institution to make concessions on your behalf, without you second guessing them. That means permitting them to make decisions that you disagree with, because you trust that in the long term such flexibility will result in a better society for all, including yourself. Even in a city like San Francisco where people are not particularly cynical about government (i.e. that it's inherently corrupt and irredeemable, hopeless about the potential for public sector interventions), people constantly battle the government over every little action, and continue to pass ballot measures that bind government decisions. So I would argue that San Franciscans don't have a high degree of trust in their government, because trust is what you do, not in what you say. Judging by the Singaporeans I know and the news I read, they can complain about government overreach and ineptitude just as much as any American. And I would presume the Swiss do this as well. But nonetheless they've still entrusted significant powers to their respective institutions such that those institutions can act swiftly and with a high degree of confidence that the electorate will back them. Ever since the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars and American attempts at nation building it should be undeniable that political culture--trust, compliance, etc--matters vastly more than structure. Undoubtedly structure matters, but perhaps not in the ways we think or to the degree we think. |
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This becomes less and less true the more unrepresentative the institution. This level of trust is nonexistent in large heterogenous polities, and only existent in small polities (Singapore, Sweden, France, Canada, Australia) or homogenous polities (China).