I’m reluctant to be, and dread becoming, one of those people who begin observations, “When I was young . . . .” Nonetheless, I think many of us feel it. There’s something askew, something very big. Not just nationally, but internationally. The character of the human lithosphere is gradually, and sometimes not so gradually, shifting, reordering, like so many tectonic plates. Richard Edelman of the Edelman Public Relation Firm (the last private firm of its kind) would have us believe there’s been “An Implosion of Trust.”

TRUST

To one degree or another, and whether we consciously realize it or not, we rely heavily on trust to function. We depend on it in our families. We depend on it at work. We depend on it when we consume. I remember a time when we counted on it when we watched or read the news. And while politicians and used car salesmen were never ones to completely trust, people generally trusted government and industry writ large, and when those institutions failed to deal honestly, a natural correction in the markets generally followed.

Trust is vital. “We have moved beyond the point of trust being simply a key factor in product purchase or selection of employment opportunity,” Edelman writes, “it is now the deciding factor in whether a society can function.” Whether society can function. Indeed, over the last century or century and a half, technology has made the world a smaller place at a growing rate, thanks to technology from the internal combustion to the jet engine, from the telegraph to the telephone to the television, from calculators to super computers and the world wide web. Globalization has linked us all together, perhaps too quickly, or too completely.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG?

While I’d pinpoint ground zero of the apparently accelerating rapid decline in trust to September 11, 2001, according to Edelman’s conclusions, it’s the economy, stupid. “This,” he writes, “is a profound crisis in trust that has its origins in the Great Recession of 2008. The aftershocks from the stunning meltdown of the global economy are still being felt today, with consequences yet unknown. Like the second and third waves of a tsunami, ongoing globalization and technological change are now further weakening people’s trust in global institutions, which they believe have failed to protect them from the negative effects of these forces.” Ok. I’ll buy that, too.

Edelman Public Relations tracks economic and societal changes with its Trust Barometer. The 2017 barometer registered 10 changing factors that are pushing trust tectonics. Faith in government and media are plunging. There are huge differences between what the informed and uniformed public believe is true. Only about half the people on the planet trust “the system,” and more and more people are frightened by corruption, immigration, globalization, waning values, among others. People are tending to ignore information that counters popularly held beliefs.

FOUR FACTORS

According to Edelman, societal changes are manifesting in four general ways, all of which are worth carefully considering. First, “the trust collapse has moved beyond a simple ‘class vs. mass’ problem to a systemic threat.” That is, the system has been compromised. “Close to half of the “informed public” — adults 25-64 with a college education, in the top 25 percent of income, and consume large amounts of media — have lost faith in the system.” Second, people no longer believe in their leaders. And if you can’t trust the leadership, you can’t trust that the leadership will make good choices for you and for the organization. Third, “don’t trust the government” is no longer just a quip: “we’ve registered the demise of government as an effective force in leading change.” And fourth, the Fourth Estate, the media, has pretty much collapsed as a trusted source in any discussion: “Media is now seen to be politicized, unable to meet its reporting obligations due to economic pressures, and following social media rather than creating the agenda.”

WHAT NOW

“If faith in the system continues to fall,” Edelman predicts, “rising populist movements could wreak unimaginable havoc, with resurgent nationalism and divisive rhetoric moving to dangerous policies.” The one thing that can save society, rebuild trust so that society can function effectively, Edelman argues, is business. It sounds like an Ayn Rand gospel of sorts: “The onus is now on business, the one institution that retains some trust with those skeptical about the system, to prove that it is possible to act in the interest of shareholders and society alike. Free markets can succeed for all if business works with the people, not just sells to them.”

For myself, I turn to Yeats: “Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold/ . . . / and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst   / Are full of passionate intensity.”

Have a good day.

Related News

Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.