Why People Don’t Trust Government - Softcover

Nye, Joseph S.

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9780674940574: Why People Don’t Trust Government
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0674940571 ISBN 13: 9780674940574
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1997

Synopsis

Confidence in American government has been declining for three decades. Three-quarters of Americans said they trusted the Federal government to do the right thing in 1964. Today, only a quarter do. Why the decline? Is this mistrust a healthy reflection of America's long-lasting skepticism of a strong state? Is mistrust a problem for the future of governance?

Bringing together essays by leading Harvard scholars, this book explores the roots of mistrust. It first examines government's current scope, its actual performance, and citizens' perceptions of its performance. It then assesses many possible explanations that have been offered for the decline of trust, including the end of the Cold War, elevated expectations following World War II, a weakened economy, the effects of globalization, resentment over political scandals, and incompetence of bureaucrats. The book clarifies thinking about the sources of public disaffection.

Mistrust, the contributors find, is largely unrelated to national economic conditions, to challenges of a global economy, to the Cold War, or to bumbling bureaucrats and venal politicians. Rather, they show that the most likely culprits are all around us―an interacting blend of cultural and political conflicts stirred by an increasingly corrosive news media.

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About the Authors

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., is Dean of the Faculty and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Philip D. Zelikow is White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia.

David C. King is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

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Publisher
Harvard University Press
Publication date
1997
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0674940571
ISBN 13 
9780674940574
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
352
Rating
  • 3.86 out of 5 stars
    14 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780674940567: Why People Don’t Trust Government

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0674940563 ISBN 13:  9780674940567
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1997
Hardcover