Word: distrust
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...have the courage to admit what has just been vanquished in ourselves: it is our cherished small-town ways. The languid passage of the days, the slowness of the buses, the sleepy authorities, the shortsighted political bickering, the unambitious artisans, our taste for déjà vu and distrust of anything unexpected which could disturb our cozy habits. All that succumbed to the dynamic energy of Germany and its buzzing hives." Today, it is no longer a warlike Germany that buzzes but an industrious China, and soon India. As in previous ruptures, France today faces a major choice...
...initial decision to allow a Dubai-owned company to operate terminals at major U.S. ports was a good one; many free-market economists will tell you as much [March 6]. But the deal was unacceptable, given the fear and distrust of foreigners that the President and the Republican Party have cultivated in the people of the U.S. since 9/11. Bush needed Americans to adopt those attitudes in order to justify the war in Iraq and ensure his reelection. What he didn't count on was that those same attitudes would come back to haunt...
...however easy it may be to understand, the global culture of distrust and disdain has disturbing implications. In Western Europe, for example, naysayers impede needed economic reforms. Government officials know they must implement sweeping policy changes to make their economies more competitive, but leaders who want to effect change must be concerned with the social consequences and their own reelection prospects. "We have to make strategic choices in the context of a strong questioning of our institutions and traditional systems of representation," says Sophie Boissard, a senior French civil servant who is establishing a policy-strategy unit for Prime Minister...
...Taken to an extreme, distrust gnaws away at some of the fundamentals of modern society. Why vote if all politicians are charlatans? Why work if all companies are crooked? Today, "Anyone with a beef can start a conspiracy theory," says Frank Furedi, a controversial sociology professor at Britain's University of Kent, who argues that deference to traditional authorities is being replaced by reverence for new ones. "We don't trust politicians but we have faith in the pronouncements of celebrities. We are suspicious of medical doctors but we feel comfortable with healers who mumble on about being 'holistic...
...that focuses on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Even NGOs are affected, Elkington notes. Groups such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International have led the attack against companies and governments, and a WEF poll shows that NGOs today are the organizations most trusted by the public. But even for NGOs distrust is growing, particularly in countries such as India, Brazil and South Korea. "People will ask: who are these people, and to whom are they accountable?" Elkington says. "You don't need many NGO Enrons to undermine people's trust...