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Increasingly around the globe, populations are losing confidence in the media, governmental competency, and a disparaging view of capitalism.
In this article, we will look at the factors driving these opinions and shifting tide as people are looking elsewhere, such as to businesses and corporations to solve the world’s problems.
A record number of developed countries, for the first time, are showing double-digit divides over trust issues between the mass population and the informed class.
The informed public, which is defined as being wealthier, more educated, and more frequent consumers of news, it is markedly more trusting of all institutions in comparison to the mass population.
Cries against capitalism have been occurring in the United States for some time, but even more so in recent times as support for democratic socialism continues to build.
The percentage of people who believe capitalism is working in their favor has been decreasing by 3% year-over-year. Globally, 57% of people now believe capitalism, in its current incarnation, “does more harm than good in the world.”
People no longer believe that hard work leads to upward mobility.
Cynicism towards capitalism is driven by a perceived lack of fairness in current economic systems. In particular, 83% of employees are in fear of losing their jobs.
This is driven by a number of factors including cheaper foreign competition, outsourcing of jobs to other nations, immigrants willing to work for less, automation, the gig economy, and a looming recession.
There is a huge gap between the public at large and the informed public, according to Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer study.
Conservatives have long decried the media, as well as social media, for silencing their voices. Conservatives believe that the liberal-majority who runs and controls the media is shutting them out, as well as suppressing conservative-leaning facts and reports.
The distrust of media is global. In fact, the vast majority of people around the world, 76%, are concerned that fake news and false information is being propagandized and yielded like a weapon to manipulate people.
Globally, 57% of people believe the media reports they receive as “contaminated with untrustworthy information.”
A unique paradox has developed around the notion of trust. Even though people don’t trust corporations – they trust businesses more than they do governments when it comes to solving global problems such as climate change and healthcare, according to Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer study.
According to Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer study, on a scale of positive ethics, people rated nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) the highest at 12%. On the scale of being unethical business rated higher at -2%, with media at -17% and governments the lowest at -19%.
On the scale of competency, businesses fared the highest, rating at about 14% competency. In terms of being less competent, it was NGOs -4% followed by media at -7% and government at -40%.
Last August, 181 of America’s top CEOs reached an agreement via the Business Roundtable on a new business model.
Under this new vision, shareholder value is no longer seen as the sole objective. Instead, these businesses will focus, as their top priority, on the services they provide to their employees, communities, and society as a whole.
However, despite this new paradigm as a result of the Business Roundtable’s announcement – it may not be legal – and lawyers around the country are weighing in on the issue.
Laws for corporations direct them to focus on stockholder welfare and it reigns supreme in corporate decision-making. Stockholder welfare must be their sole end.
Further, under the so-called Business Misjudgment Rule, directors of corporate boards are shielded from liability as long as they are deemed to have acted in a corporation’s interest. A change in decision-making might remove such protection.
