Parts of America still are high trust: https://qctimes.com/entertainment/dining/article_5371e735-53...

When Lee Kuan Yew visited London for the first time after World War II, he was impressed by the fact that it had unattended newspaper stands where people were trusted to take a newspaper and leave money: https://youtu.be/b_6H26fpZp8. As someone from a low trust society, I fully concur with his assessment that this was the mark of a truly “civilized society.”

Right after WW2, trust was way higher. There was a belief in common good and progress and all that.

You know, back when it was a noble democracy where all men were free, or something.

Given your username, you're not going to like the answer to that question.

I don't think we were ever a "high trust" society in the way that like Denmark is or something. But I'd find it hard to argue with the assertion that rather, the US has become increasingly more of a low trust society recently, more than we already were.

Obviously subjective, but I would argue it was higher before stores began putting the items behind glass/locks.

Up until the Powell memo.

In the General Social Survey, the share of adults saying “most people can be trusted” fell from 46% in 1972 to 34% in 2018, and Pew found the same 34% in a 2023 to 2024 poll. - https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/americans-trust-in-on...

Back during the Red Scare obviously \s

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