Commentary
When society has widespread faith that its institutions and the experts who guide public policy are unbiased, its people can tolerate a lot—even when things don’t happen to go their way. In recent years, however, this confidence has taken a beating, especially among conservatives (e.g., this 2022 Gallup poll).
This trend presents a serious, even existential, threat to social cohesion. If people believe they’re relegated to second-class status based on their race, religion, or political views by biased or incompetent elites who were entrusted to maintain a fair system, and if they see no way of changing that status quo through peaceful participation, then things can get very ugly very quickly….