The takeaway should be an update towards mistrust in institutions.
Presidents swindle and rape—therefore the Presidency is not sacred.
The Red Cross steals—therefore the Red Cross is not sacred.
Olympic athletes cheat—therefore the Olympics is not sacred.
Many scientific articles are fraudulent—therefore peer review is not sacred.
This is not the same as saying the institutions should not exist, or are worse than the alternative. But it seems very common to have confusion about the trustworthiness of institutions. On the one hand, to know that there is dishonesty; on the other hand, to continue to trust the institutions as though they were honest. I don’t think this is an example of pure cynicism on the part of ordinary people; I don’t think it means they simply favor the high-status and strong, and truly don’t care about honesty. I think that historically there have been efforts to convince people “you can trust this, it is reliable” about certain things, and that we haven’t quite adapted to knowing we’re no longer in that world. It is very hard to maintain awareness of one’s true aloneness.
I also think that it’s easy to forget that trust (being able to depend on things, being able to be secure, a world that remains stable and normal and safe) is a function of honesty (having words match exactly to deeds and facts.) We blow off honesty as a “mere” moral scruple, but expect to continue to trust the world around us.
The takeaway should be an update towards mistrust in institutions.
Presidents swindle and rape—therefore the Presidency is not sacred. The Red Cross steals—therefore the Red Cross is not sacred. Olympic athletes cheat—therefore the Olympics is not sacred. Many scientific articles are fraudulent—therefore peer review is not sacred.
This is not the same as saying the institutions should not exist, or are worse than the alternative. But it seems very common to have confusion about the trustworthiness of institutions. On the one hand, to know that there is dishonesty; on the other hand, to continue to trust the institutions as though they were honest. I don’t think this is an example of pure cynicism on the part of ordinary people; I don’t think it means they simply favor the high-status and strong, and truly don’t care about honesty. I think that historically there have been efforts to convince people “you can trust this, it is reliable” about certain things, and that we haven’t quite adapted to knowing we’re no longer in that world. It is very hard to maintain awareness of one’s true aloneness.
I also think that it’s easy to forget that trust (being able to depend on things, being able to be secure, a world that remains stable and normal and safe) is a function of honesty (having words match exactly to deeds and facts.) We blow off honesty as a “mere” moral scruple, but expect to continue to trust the world around us.