Why Trust Matters

Description

"American public policy has become demonstrably more conservative since the 1960s. Neither Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton was much like either John F. Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson. The American public, however, has not become more conservative. Why, then, the right turn in public policy? Using both individual- and aggregate-level survey data, Marc Hetherington shows that the rapid decline in Americans' political trust since the 1960s is critical to explaining this puzzle. As people lost faith in the federal government, the delivery system for most progressive policies, they supported progressive ideas much less. The 9/11 attacks increased such trust as public attention focused on security, but the effect was temporary." "This book represents a substantial contribution to the study of public opinion and voting behavior, policy, and American politics generally."--BOOK JACKET.

First Sentence

SINCE THE LATE 1960s and especially since Watergate, not even those who head the federal government have had much good to say about it.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American LiberalismPaperbackPrinceton University Press2006-09-25
• Why Trust MattersHardcoverPrinceton University Press2004-10-04
• Why trust mattersPrinceton University Press2005-01-01