Trust is an important indicator of political legitimacy, and it is vital to ensure a healthy and functioning democracy. But we must work to preserve it. This was the overwhelming consensus reached by speakers and participants at the 50th St. Gallen Symposium when it came to addressing an era of contested trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evidently, 2020 was a tumultuous year. From the onset of the pandemic, we saw deep levels of government intervention, revealing many cracks in the system. Harvard University political scientist Michael Sandel provided an excellent analysis of just why trust in modern democracies has faltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Processor Sandel certainly wasted no time in getting to the crux of the issue. \u201cWe have embraced a narrow technocratic conception of the common good which has narrowed the civic project,\u201d he said. Sanders directly addressed the decades of neoliberal globalisation and free market policies which have undermined public trust in governing elites and their ability to serve the interests of ordinary working people today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argues that liberalisation — and specifically deregulation of the labour market — has deepened the divide between the \u2018winners\u2019 and \u2018losers\u2019 of globalisation. This divisiveness, he argues, has \u201cpoisoned our politics\u201d and \u201cimpoverished public discourse.\u201d \u201cThe common good is currently understood in economic terms,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is less about solidarity or deepening the bonds of citizenship than it is about satisfying consumer preferences as measured by GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, technocratic elites have created such deep polarisation that many citizens have turned to hyper-nationalist figures as a protest against these elites, driving voters towards supporting populist demagogues on the far right and left. It has also mobilised anti-globalisation sentiment as manifested by Brexit and the election of Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is worse, is that according to Sandel, citizens have become mistrustful of one another, and the break-down of community ties has destroyed what holds democracies together. This has had severe consequences for civic dialogue. \u201cWhen passion enters the equation, we have shouting matches, we shout past each other without really listening,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governing well means more than just technocratic expertise. \u201cSuccessful governing requires practical wisdom and judgement, including the ability to deliberate with one\u2019s fellow citizens about justice and the common good, and identify with people from all walks of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When all voices in society are heard equally, we can strengthen community ties and make people feel integrated and empowered. It\u2019s no easy task. But ultimately, as Nestl\u00e9 CEO Mark Schneider, pointed out during the symposium, \u201cthere is no natural road to democracy, unless you work for it. Democracies don\u2019t stay successful and vibrant unless you work to maintain them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Public confidence in domestic political institutions is wavering. What we can do to earn it back? Trust is an important indicator of political legitimacy, and it is vital to ensure a healthy and functioning democracy. But we must work to preserve it. This was the overwhelming consensus reached by speakers and participants at the 50th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[26],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sympact"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"xl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"xxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"xxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"xxxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"xxxxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/FMP_Symposium_day3__89.jpg",1500,1000,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"
Public confidence in domestic political institutions is wavering. What we can do to earn it back? Trust is an important indicator of political legitimacy, and it is vital to ensure a healthy and functioning democracy. But we must work to preserve it. This was the overwhelming consensus reached by speakers and participants at the 50th St. Gallen Symposium when it came to addressing an era of contested trust. Evidently, 2020 was a tumultuous year. From the onset of the pandemic, we saw deep levels of government intervention, revealing many cracks in the system. Harvard University political scientist Michael Sandel provided…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"SYMPACT<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"wordpress@weitblick-online.ch","url":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/author\/wordpressweitblick-online-ch\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","authors":[{"term_id":26,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"sabine-mcginley","display_name":"Sabine McGinley","avatar_url":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/gravatars\/762b22de4bf1bf3924204e9b02554eaa","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1282"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3139,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions\/3139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1282"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}