Trust - best built on solid ground
- Martin Enlund
- 11/6/24
TL;DR: J.D. Vance recently observed that many in the Democratic Party are attempting to manufacture trust from the top down, neglecting the fact that genuine trust is often born from grassroots connections. There’s indeed a stark contrast between trust that’s artificially constructed through manipulation and censorship, and trust that’s organically cultivated from the ground up.
The mathematics of trust (in the media)
- Martin Enlund
- 10/23/24
A recent wedding celebration for Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson resulted in controversy, as one of the guests in attendance was reportedly linked to organized crime. Following this “wedding scandal”, a columnist noted that the party’s voters had not been significantly affected. Instead of a decrease in trust - which one might have expected - 10% of them stated that their confidence in the party had actually increased. “Over the years, the Sweden Democrats have surprisingly emerged unscathed from their numerous scandals,” she wrote. But is this really so surprising?
Central bankers talk the talk, but fail to walk the walk
- Martin Enlund
- 4/8/24
Trust is a topic increasingly being discussed. Whether it is trust in each other, in the media, or in our authorities, trust is generally seen as a cornerstone of a strong and well-functioning society. The topic was also the theme of the World Economic Forum at its annual meeting in Davos earlier this year. Even among central bank economists, the subject is becoming more prevalent. Last year, Agustín Carstens, head of the BIS (“the central bank of central banks”), said that “[w]ith trust, the public will be more willing to accept actions that involve short-term costs in exchange for long-term benefits” and that “trust is vital for policy effectiveness”.