"Producing and Consuming Trust" by Eric M. Uslaner, in Political Science Quarterly (Winter 2000–2001), 475 Riverside Dr., Ste. 1274, New York, N.Y. 10115–1274.

What ails the American civic spirit? The leading school of thought today is that as people have cut back their participation in voluntary organizations, their trust in others—so vital to a community’s health— has declined. "Joiners become more tolerant, less cynical, and more empathetic to the misfortunes of others," maintains Robert Putnam, the author of Bowling Alone (2000) and a seminal 1995 article of the same title. He believes that when individuals take part in civic organizations, their trust in people they know leads to trust in those they don’t know.

Uslaner, a University of Maryland political scientist, is skeptical. Joining with people much like oneself in a bowling league or a fraternal or religious organization, he argues, does not promote trust in strangers. We learn that kind of trust, essential for a civil society, "early in life from our parents, who impart to us a sense of optimism and a belief that we are the masters of our own fate."

People who possess what Uslaner calls "moralistic trust" see little risk in putting their faith in strangers, because they "believe that ...other people are generally well motivated" and share the same underlying moral values. Such optimists become active in their communities, tackling civic problems large and small, and giving time and money to charity—but not necessarily taking part in social clubs, fraternal organizations, bowling leagues, and the like.

Their kind of trust is waning, writes Uslaner. Surveys indicate that the proportion of Americans who believe that "most people can be trusted" has plummeted in recent decades—from 58 percent in 1960 to 36 percent in 1998. Why? Putnam ultimately points a finger at TV and the dangerous world it presents to viewers. But while television viewing "has leveled off in recent years," observes Uslaner, there has been no rebound in trust.

He blames the trust deficit on other culprits, including the simultaneous rise in the numbers of Christian fundamentalists and the "unchurched." "Religion has been the source of much of American civic life. Half of charitable contributions...and almost 40 percent of volunteering are based in religious organizations," he notes. But fundamentalists "are more likely to put faith only in their own kind." They are twice as likely as other believers to join only religious groups. The unchurched are almost 20 percent more likely than believers to join no groups at all.

But the main reason for the trust deficit, Uslaner believes, is that Americans have become more pessimistic about the future. The proportion of Americans who told pollsters that their children would have better lives than they themselves did fell from 60 percent or more in the 1960s to around 15 percent in the 1990s. Why? Uslaner blames growing economic inequality. Until that trend is reversed, he says, many Americans will continue to be wary of their fellow countrymen.