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The Ezra Klein Show · February 10, 2023 · 75m
The Collapse of Institutional Trust
The Ezra Klein Show
Klein examines why Americans trust institutions less than at any point in polling history — and whether distrust is rational. The answer: institutions have often earned their distrust, but the alternative (trusting nothing) is worse.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Highlights
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Institutional trust is collapsing because institutions have repeatedly failed — the distrust is rational
Klein argues that declining trust in government, media, medicine, and corporations isn't irrational — it's a response to real failures: Iraq WMDs, the financial crisis, the opioid epidemic, and corporate scandals.•
Low trust is a self-fulfilling prophecy — distrust makes institutions perform worse, which increases distrust
Klein identifies the doom loop: distrust reduces institutional capacity (talented people avoid government, funding is cut, oversight is weakened), which produces worse performance, which increases distrust further.Was this useful?