Do You Trust Your Government? \ stacker news ~culture

2999 sats \ 77 comments \ @kr 23 Jan culture

saw an interesting chart today showing the incredible range of trust people have in their governments.

on the high end, 84% of people in Switzerland trust their government, while only 22% of those in Slovakia trust theirs.

Americans are pretty close to the bottom of the pile, with only 31% saying they trust their government.

what factors do you think are most responsible for the wide variations?

why is switzerland most trusting, while italy (which borders switzerland) is among the least trusting of their government?

why is costa rica the only one of the top 10 countries with the most trust to be located outside of europe?

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687 sats \ 2 replies \ @SimpleStacker 23 Jan

I thought Germany would be lower on the list, but maybe I've been reading too many posts by @TomK 😆

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @TomK 23 Jan

Lol. 90% didn't understand the question

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

😂😂😂😂

1069 sats \ 9 replies \ @Undisciplined 23 Jan

Switzerland has a relatively small and very decentralized government. That might be relevant.

In my experience, Ticanos are extremely sycophantic towards their government. Probably because it's not nearly as terrible as its neighbors.

What I most want to know is who the 31% of Americans are who trust the national government. That's full on insanity.

525 sats \ 1 reply \ @rarson 23 Jan

What I most want to know is who the 31% of Americans are who trust the national government. That's full on insanity.

A lot of Americans buy into the fake red vs blue dichotomy.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 23 Jan

True, but increasingly it's out of fear of the other, rather than affinity for one's own side. I doubt many from team red would have answered that they trust the national government.

513 sats \ 4 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

Thought of this as well. I believe one of the biggest issues with all governance and structure is size. Large states have issues that smaller states do not have. Large companies have issues that small companies do not have. Everything does not scale and outside of my moral problems with the state I see functional issues with the size of states.

43 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined 23 Jan

Good point. Even if a large state functioned better (for efficiency reasons or whatever), there would likely be a tradeoff with trust. By necessity the rulers of a large state will be further removed from the average person.

That seems to be the case with companies, at least.

555 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

Exactly. This is how I have attempted to explain my issues with the functionality of states to people that have no moral issues with the monopoly on violence. What many capitalists and social conservatives fail to recognize is that large companies often suffer from many of the same issues with government bodies. The primary difference though is companies don't have a money printer and will fail unless they are to big to fail. Ala banks and airlines to name two.

709 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 23 Jan

The socialist calculation problem applies to firms' internal operations in exactly the same way it applies to governments. The difference, as you say, is the external profit and loss signals that most companies face.

393 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

Bingo. I never can remember the names of these things.

291 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 24 Jan

Switzerland has a relatively small and very decentralized government. That might be relevant.

Yep, afaik, they also have regular referendums. Not saying that would work everywhere but seems to work for them. I think their population is pretty involved with politics in a good way.

27 sats \ 0 replies \ @megaptera 24 Jan

Every citizen has the opportunity to start an initiative (100k signatures). The people can then vote on this. Only 50k signatures are required for referendums.

856 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 23 Jan

My guess on why the variance in trust levels is culture.

I would note that more of the nations in the least trust have experienced communist rule. All of the folks I know from former east block nations have much lower levels of trust in people not to mention governments.

Many that trust are nordic countries which I have heard have a tighter community/cultural history than say the US.

The US has a rebellious streak.

53 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

makes sense. do you think these are cyclical trends and one day the norwegians will have low trust in their governments too?

or is there something inherent in their cultural fabric that maintains high trust in both good and bad times?

743 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 23 Jan

I don't trust any government but especially the one that presides over the communist republic of Canada where I live.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 23 Jan

do you expect canada’s quality of life to materially change once trudeau is out of office?

563 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 23 Jan

Not likely materially but maybe we have to chance to slow down the big government take over of the nation.

When I refer to big gov take over I am also including the big gov adjacent entities, bureaucracies, massive public sector unions, gov funded media.

455 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs 23 Jan

Im surprised Germany's still above the 50%-mark.

772 sats \ 0 replies \ @Deleted10000 23 Jan

I think Texas is earning some brownie points right now at the border.

Lots of interior states within the republic did decent during the false pandemic

Bukele and Milei are worth watching, too.

634 sats \ 6 replies \ @Bitman 23 Jan

why is costa rica the only one of the top 10 countries with the most trust to be located outside of europe?

Not sure but maybe they weren't impressed by the help from the US after the storm, & subsequent devastation, a few years ago. This might have been seen to contrast with seeing some of their own officials rolling their sleeves up, wearing waders and not just doing it for a photoshoot.

10 sats \ 5 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

interesting theory

10 sats \ 4 replies \ @Bitman 23 Jan

The 🧻s throwing event looked really bad.

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @chaoticalHeavy 23 Jan

weren't impressed by the help from the US after the storm

That's Puerto Rico, part of the USA.

10 sats \ 2 replies \ @Bitman 23 Jan

My bad. Puerto Rican's don't have the same full rights though do they?

61 sats \ 1 reply \ @anon 23 Jan

They are essentially the same as anyone born in rest of the USA except: 1) usually don't have to pay federal income taxes (but do pay other federal taxes) 2) can't vote for presidency or congressmen and thus don't get federal political representation. But you still get all other American rights, e.g. speech, guns, religion, etc. imho thats a good tradeoff, congress and president are always terrible in my lifetime so I'd rather not vote and not pay taxes. I am not Puerto Rican but what public articles I've read and folks I've met from there generally seem to favor this balance of not voting but lower taxes. Most of the benefits with a lot less cost.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bitman 23 Jan

Indeed, that seems a nice trade off!

I was aware of #2, but hadn't picked up on #1 til you told me.

613 sats \ 0 replies \ @kurszusz 23 Jan

When I was young (10-14 years old) I trusted in the government. I thought different political ideologies have different principles. (I admit...I was naive). In my university years, I had the opportunity to work as voluntar for a political organisation in my country. An organisation who represent the minority's rights....and when I constated what kind of "murder" it is.....my opinion was changed 180 degrees, and I becomed trustless with any political organisation

592 sats \ 5 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

No. But even broken clocks are sometimes right. Twice a day? I do trust the government to screw people, kill people, steal, and generally cause havoc.

20 sats \ 4 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

what’s your best guess for why the people of luxembourg seem to trust their government?

334 sats \ 3 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

I have never met anyone from Luxembourg and as a dumb American I know very little about that country. Its an interesting question.

I would guess they haven't been burned by the current government yet. Or it is much better than the previous.

43 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

fair enough. i’ve only met one person from luxembourg, and when i did i had to ask them where luxembourg was located. i still probably couldn’t point to it on a map.

255 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 23 Jan

I know I couldn't lol. I do seem to recall they have a monarch and maybe that he's a libertarian? Could be confusing this with another country.

44 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

you’re right about the monarch part at least, they call it a constitutional monarchy

https://gouvernement.lu/en/systeme-politique.html

554 sats \ 3 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

No, not in any, not in surveys either

31 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

why do you think the majority of people in costa rica claim to trust their government?

genuinely curious to hear opposing views on this.

318 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

They are probably too busy enjoying nature instead of listening to politicians! the fact is that it is a country that puts environment before massive buildings, they are quite restrictive on this point. Some friends worked there for months and they all agree that people is wonderful and the place is a real paradise, but yep, regarding policy, I am completely unaware of how it works

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @TomK 23 Jan

No idea. Maybe it's the good climate that makes a lot of people independent and off grid.

554 sats \ 8 replies \ @OneOneSeven 23 Jan

Stockholm Syndrome, literally haha

Should be 0 across the board

110 sats \ 7 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

i hear you… but as a thought experiment, let’s take the opposite stance… what’s your best theory for why people in switzerland trust their government?

289 sats \ 1 reply \ @Nuttall 23 Jan

Every Male in Switzerland has an automatic weapon and ammunition issued by the government in their home. Every male is a member of the military. Very few exceptions to this rule.

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 23 Jan

It is fun to get a Swiss man to talk about guns in the presence of US people. Blows up some stereotypes no-gun exposed people have.

254 sats \ 4 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

Maybe citizen participation (voting), since they not only in elections, but in different issues. On the other hand, I also think as a key factor that they have a favorable business environment, which generates better salaries that in turn reduce corruption rates

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

what kind of different issues do swiss people vote on that americans don’t?

355 sats \ 2 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

Citizens may propose changes to the constitution with popular initiatives or request optional referendums on any law voted, moreover swiss political system is more decentralized than the american one, talking about cantons we are really referring to what an american would recognize as the local level in politics, swiss cantons are often the same size as a small american metropolitan area

40 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 23 Jan

ah interesting, i have heard of swiss cantons before but haven’t dug into the specifics of how they work

398 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

That's the point, cantons being smaller allow a closer proximity to the neighborhood. Switzerland is a bit special, no president but 7 ministers from different parties rotating presidency during the government, voting each plan devised before they are implemented. Yep, governments are not cool, but among bad things, it is certainly not the worst

547 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 23 Jan

Obviously overgeneralizing - but the predominant reason someone is in America is almost always: they/their ancestor wanted better economic opportunity, didn't trust their old government, or both. In my experience usually both. Either someone felt this directly, their immediate family did, or the stories of why still often get passed down. Even several generations later, I refuse to trust governments because our family patriarch had his entire family killed by government employees in front of him as a child and they were dirt poor to start with anyway, and this happened in a supposedly "affluent, educated, democracy". If it could happen to him there it could happen anywhere. I will tell my children these stories when they're old enough.

327 sats \ 2 replies \ @Nuttall 23 Jan

I don't trust any government. But most importantly I don't trust anyone who works for the government because more people have been executed by government workers than any other group in history.

And yes, I've worked for the government in the past.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fabs 23 Jan

And from that I conclude... That you dont trust yourself!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Nuttall 23 Jan

I no longer work for the government. Yes I do trust myself that's why I don't work for the government.

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @SpaceHodler 24 Jan

But I guess some governments, like that of Switzerland, suck less than others.

120 sats \ 0 replies \ @OriginalSize 24 Jan

Costa Rica is interesting because they had no major natural resources for the Europeans to pillage. So it's developed more organically which has perhaps left the trust of native culture intact.

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @Fabs 23 Jan

deleted by author

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Fabs 23 Jan

That didn't come across as planned, love you @kr 😘

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 23 Jan

🤠

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs 23 Jan

Don't be mad with me.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @tolot 24 Jan

I deeply trust my government...to fuck up everything.

240 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 23 Jan

Yes I trust them to steal and debase the currency

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @JuanMiguel 24 Jan

I dont trust people.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @m00ninite 24 Jan

I imagine there's a high correlation to quality of life of the middle class, and whether their government is functionally competent and able to get public works done (building roads, rails, bridges).

I'm pretty well convinced that the US' days of getting anything done are past us. We had the perfect opportunity to put people to work on new infrastructure while the world was shut down and completely squandered it. Imagine how quickly you could re-pave a road if you know nobody is driving on it and you can close it as long as you need to.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @cyberpunk02 23 Jan

nope

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullama 24 Jan

I don't 100% trust anyone really, governments involved.

That should be the standard really. They need to earn the citizen's trust.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullama 24 Jan

I think this is linked to how much rich people have bought a country.

If a politician is working for the people, then there would be a lot of trust.

If, on the other hand, a politician is working for rich people, then people won't trust them.

It really shows. When you hear a politician trying to sell and idea that doesn't sound right, you just know there are some back door deals going on.

When you listen to an honest politician that actually wants to help people, it's refreshing.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Roll 24 Jan

-How do they detemine how to trust a gouvernement ? -which aspect are they talking about: social, politic, econonic, agriculture, art.... ? -Gzero belongs to Eurasia group: who are they ? what are they social party ?their investors ? ) -Where are african countries, American countries, Asia Countries , and many more in that list? At the end this is just may be just trash information!!!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 24 Jan

I actually rather trust my government. So the Singapore government gave each household $500 worth of vouchers to cope with the rising costs of living this year. We have one year to finish the vouchers.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @f6287b82CC84bcbd 24 Jan

After the stunt they pulled during 2020/2021.. Hell no. Hang them all at the gallows

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @_stacktoshi 23 Jan

I trust them to simultaneously execute short-sighted policies from 50 years ago while attempting to enact short-sighted policies to solve some crisis promoted by the corporate media.

Do they ever step back and analyze their plans, actions and results? I'd trust them a helluva lot more even if they just mentioned the word "retrospective" from time to time.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @faithandcredit 23 Jan

I trust the government to do things in ways that are detrimental

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Krv 23 Jan

Sad because the amount of trust in government is directly proportional to how much the population gets and will get screwed over.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scholarhacker 23 Jan

“Implicitly with undying devotion,” he said without knowing the state was sniffing his messages.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet 23 Jan

Surveys are just cooked to the applicant's liking, certainly can't swallow so much trust in governments these days. Did they include all countries? How many people participated? Sometimes, opinion towards a government is measured in data, which the pollsters extract directly from government data, so you simply have to take it on faith

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Atreus 23 Jan

😆 😆 😆

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @blushethnic 23 Jan freebie

I believe the tax rate in those countries plays an important role for the peoples decision, more money they suck from you the less you trust em...