Source -> https://pluralofyou.org/trust-among-americans-not-over-yet/

Americans are suffering more than ever from a lack of trust in their fellow humans. Those are findings from the latest General Social Survey, a sociological survey that has tracked changes in American society since 1972. Trust is crucial for a society because people are unwilling or unable to put their faith in one another without it.

According to the GSS, 25.3 percent of respondents in 2022—representing 1 in 4 Americans—said that “most people can be trusted”. This is down from 46.8 percent of respondents in 1972. In a previous survey known as the DDB Needham Life Style Survey, Americans’ trust peaked in 1967–1968, when 56% of survey respondents agreed that “most people can be trusted.” You can see the trends between 1972 and 2022 below.

Very interesting graphs within that article. It shows how much damage capitalism has done to Burgerland's citizens in terms atomization and alienation.

  • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    5 months ago

    I think your first and second question can be answered with this:

    The GSS question on trust represents a concept known as generalized trust. Generalized trust is a more optimistic point of view than particularized trust, which is a more pessimistic concept in the context of social faith. People with high generalized trust would expect a stranger to return their purse or their wallet to them if they lost it. People with high particularized trust would expect a stranger to steal that same wallet or purse if they found it.

    Put another way, generalized and particularized trust suggest how much risk someone sees in “most people”. Those with more generalized trust believe that people generally share their values and would act as they would in most situations. Those with more particularized trust only trust a small circle of individuals to share their positions.

    About your third question, the following statement from the article can help as an answer:

    The findings from the GSS suggest that more Americans than ever have abandoned generalized trust in favor of particularized trust.

    • MarxMadness@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      5 months ago

      Thank you for the context. It answers the first question I had to a degree (although there's a big difference between trusting someone to return a wallet and, say, trusting someone to honestly handle a large amount of money), but I don't think it gets at the second and third questions. Those deal with the objective issue of how many people would actually return a lost wallet, and if that's changed over time.

      In other words, is this change in sentiment tied to changing real-world conditions? If people today are about as trustworthy as they were in 1972 but everyone is more pessimistic about it, that's quite a different story than if people are actually less trustworthy today and the common sentiment simply reflects that. Or maybe people have become more trustworthy over time and the sentiment is entirely detached from reality.

      • RedWizard [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        5 months ago

        I think testing that reality would be an interesting study, but, it's defiantly not what this survey is doing. This is simply showing the change in perception of peoples trustworthiness. If that aligns for reality is unknown.

      • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        5 months ago

        In other words, is this change in sentiment tied to changing real-world conditions?

        From my perspective, unless you meant by real-world conditions as economic or material, this is a no.

        After looking at what the author used to explain the decline of public trust which mentions the following: "Race, however, is the most significant factor I’ve found that correlates with the decline", he doesn't mentions the material conditions behind why race is an important factor. He also expands this in the following excerpt:

        Much has been written about race and trust in the United States. The consensus on trust among non-Whites cites systemic racism, racial discrimination, neighborhood circumstances, and economic inequality as the reasons why they are less trusting than Whites. There is less consensus on the decline of trust among Whites, though leading theories draw in part from a supposed White backlash to America’s growing diversity and the so-called “end of White Christian America”.

        If this decline of generalized trust continues, Americans—and White Americans in particular—will become even more alienated, isolated, and paranoid of their fellow residents. They will break into smaller and smaller groups to find power and meaning, choosing to particularize their trust in the process. These groups will be less willing to compromise or even communicate with one another, often resorting to anger or violence to deliver their messages.