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>> People just don't trust authorities anymore, because authorities time and time again have misled them. > No, that's wrong model. > Authorities have always

>> People just don't trust authorities anymore, because authorities time and time again have misled them. > No, that's wrong model. > Authorities have always misled us. There was no time in the past when authorities would be truthful. > What changed is us, our access to information and our ability to shout out whatever you want and reach another person on the other side of the world. I think actually both are true. Authorities have always misled, and people have a deteriorating trust in (especially political) authorities. The reason is because the frequency of lying to the public increases with an authority's access to the public. Before 24-hour news and the internet, there simply wasn't as much motive for leaders to lie with any real frequency. Now they do so constantly because they are in constant dialogue with the public, and are susceptible to frenzy.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago
What's changed is our ability to detect authorities are lying to us. It's higher than it's ever been. That erodes trust, because over and over we see authorities lying to us. Then, add in disinformation and propaganda that makes incomplete truths look like total lies, and truths look like at best half-truths. That makes us perceive lying more perhaps more often than authorities actually lie.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  I think so too. With a camera in every hand and an independent (or at least controlled-by-competing-power) news outlet just a click away, all the dirt can no longer be hidden from public view. Our levels of trust are approaching the level that actually matches the dishonesty of the political and managerial class.
  - AnimalMuppet 5y ago
    > Our levels of trust are approaching the level that actually matches the dishonesty of the political and managerial class. Ouch. That may be the most depressing thing I've read in a while. (Not saying you're wrong, though...)
- avgcorrection 5y ago
  How naive. Why would any lowly person have ever trusted what their lords told them?
  - ARandomerDude 5y ago
    To a great extent you have to and with some regularity. Anyone who spends or accepts currency as payment is exercising some trust in the government and the authorities who manage the financial system. When Kennedy told the country about the Cuban missile crisis, the country had to believe he was largely telling the truth about the situation, etc. Society is built on trust.
    - t-3 5y ago
      Trust isn't necessary at all when faced with a behemoth that can and will crush you without noticing or caring. "Going along to get along" has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with survival.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago

What's changed is our ability to detect authorities are lying to us. It's higher than it's ever been. That erodes trust, because over and over we see authorities lying to us. Then, add in disinformation and propaganda that makes incomplete truths look like total lies, and truths look like at best half-truths. That makes us perceive lying more perhaps more often than authorities actually lie.

inglor_cz 5y ago
I think so too. With a camera in every hand and an independent (or at least controlled-by-competing-power) news outlet just a click away, all the dirt can no longer be hidden from public view. Our levels of trust are approaching the level that actually matches the dishonesty of the political and managerial class.
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  > Our levels of trust are approaching the level that actually matches the dishonesty of the political and managerial class. Ouch. That may be the most depressing thing I've read in a while. (Not saying you're wrong, though...)
avgcorrection 5y ago
How naive. Why would any lowly person have ever trusted what their lords told them?
- ARandomerDude 5y ago
  To a great extent you have to and with some regularity. Anyone who spends or accepts currency as payment is exercising some trust in the government and the authorities who manage the financial system. When Kennedy told the country about the Cuban missile crisis, the country had to believe he was largely telling the truth about the situation, etc. Society is built on trust.
  - t-3 5y ago
    Trust isn't necessary at all when faced with a behemoth that can and will crush you without noticing or caring. "Going along to get along" has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with survival.