Trust, the Real Power of the People
We delegate trust to institutions
Technology has an insidious way of inserting itself into first-world problems of the 21 century. I left my air conditioning on, let's make the thermostat a smart device! I wish my phone took pictures, let’s make the phone a camera! I wish I could take a spin class at home, let’s stick an iPad on a bike!
But not all of our problems are so simple. Take democracy. Turning to technology to solve an issue like securing elections might seem like a good idea yet slapping a blockchain on it is just not quite a complete solution.
If technology is not the answer, then how can it be part of the larger picture; what does it mean to be a democracy in the digital age? The answer may lie in the pact between citizens and government, an agreement that is based on trust. Trust that the government will defend the nation, enforce justice that is truly just, and provide for the welfare of all.
November 3 is election day in the U.S. It is hard to find a person without an opinion on what is at stake. But, whether it is the 70 year old grandfather with two bad knees standing in the early voting line because he doesn't have confidence in a mail-in ballot, or the 35 year old worker insistent their candidate will win because the “polls are fake”, there is a consistent tune: distrust.
Americans are in a constant search for what it means to be American, says French philosopher and cultural theorist, Jean Baudrillard -- who traveled the US in the 1970 and 80’s documenting everyday Americans through his postmodernist lens. Increasingly, it seems that political elections, especially for the president, are billed as heavy weights bouts over the meaning of America. More and more the arguments center on, “can you trust those people with our country?” But for one moment every four years, that empirical wanderlust in Americans settles, if but for a moment.
While the nation collectively reads, “[...] concedes, […] wins the Presidency,” the country is warmed with certainty. A reassurance that the institution of democracy, in which we have placed our trust, has once again held its end of the bargain. However, that moment does not linger; with the smoke of the last battle of the long election still hanging thick in the air, efforts to manipulate and distort the electorate begin again.
So, what can we do to safeguard institutions in which we delegate our trust beyond leaning on technology — before a systemic failure? Dee Hock, the founder of VISA, wrote in his book One from Many, “It doesn't take much thought to realize we’re in the midst of a global epidemic of institutional failure. [...] organizations are increasingly unable to achieve the purposes for which they were created.”
For example, the energy industry is failing our planet and future generations, yet still, for the most part, has not altered course. Large consumer tech platforms still reign supreme while, at two ends of the spectrum, censorship and disinformation go unchecked.
What are the consequences of sitting on the brink of failure and idly looking on? A failure of energy institutions is the catastrophic collapse of our biosphere. The failure of social media institutions may result in the elimination of free speech online or the radicalization of populations. A failure of democratic institutions would compromise the agreement between citizens and government for freedom, equality, and prosperity. As long as we allow our trust, whether in politicians, government, or corporations to be exploited, we will always teeter on the edge, searching for that one moment where we are reassured that all is not lost -- this time.
We can’t wait for democracy to fail to take steps to safeguard it, just as we can’t wait for the climate to collapse to protect the planet or our speech to disappear to speak up. Trust is not a product that can be created by corporations or administered by bureaucracy. People -- decentralized, chaordic communities -- delegate their trust to institutions. Trust is the real power of the people. The people legitimize the institutions of government with their trust in them, just as they legitimize politicians and policies with their support. Know your power, leverage how you delegate trust, and advocate for policies and candidates that will safeguard your principles in our digital world.