It’s a very basic lesson drilled into most children: that hard work and dedication will help propel your forward towards your dreams. However, as these children grow older, they’re starting to see that isn’t always true.
An international survey regarding trust shows that most of the population is losing faith in the current system and how it rewards hard work, saying there’s far more keeping them down.
There’s something brewing within society as the years go by, and this study might explain what exactly it is.
A 2020 pre-pandemic report of the Edelman Trust Barometer reveals some shocking statistics regarding public trust in relation to economics.
Despite good economic performance, the population’s trust is slipping.
A majority of respondents in every developed market believe they won’t be any better off financially in five years’ time, meaning that strong economic growth doesn’t aid in building trust.
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Edelman’s CEO, Richard Edelman, believes we’re living in a “trust paradox.”
“Since we began measuring trust 20 years ago, economic growth has fostered rising trust,” he says, “This continues in Asia and the Middle East but not in developed markets, where national income inequality is now the more important factor.”
There’s also a lot of fear regarding loss of business and job opportunities due to external factors.
Globally, 83% of employees worry about job loss due to. “[…] automation, a looming recession, lack of training, cheaper foreign competition, immigration and the gig economy,” wrote Australia’s ABC .
This myriad of fears combined with a lack of hope about one’s financial growth means people don’t believe hard work alone will cut it anymore, and that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the systems at work.
And that does truly seem to be the case, with 56% of the global population believing modern-day capitalism does more harm than good.
Distaste in the current socio-economic structure, looming worries regarding the rapid development of technology, and a massive gap in trust between the elite and the general public has created a melting pot of concerns that are spreading across the world.
Only time can tell what sort of changes will need to be made.
h/t: ABC
