The Washington Post initiates today a 6-part series on the loss of trust in all American institutions, "The Politics of Mistrust," based on a recent poll sponsored by the Post, Harvard and the Kaiser Family Foundation. While not directly related to technical crypto, a number of findings parallel discussions here about the diminution of personal and economic security. Samples: America is becoming a nation of suspicious strangers, and this mistrust of each other is a major reason Americans have lost confidence in the federal government and virtually every other major national institution. Every generation that has come of age since the 1950s has been more mistrusting of human nature, a transformation in the national outlook that has deeply corroded the nation's social and political life. Mistrustful Americans repeatedly expressed far less confidence in the federal government, the military, the Supreme Court, Congress and the Clinton administration than the dwindling numbers of Americans who were more upbeat about human nature. Fear of crime, economic insecurity and pessimism about the lives of future generations all have separately added to the belief that government is either making things worse or is incapable of making them better. Today, a clear majority of respondents in their early 20s said they do not trust their fellow Americans, a view they share with one in four Americans over the age of 60. "It's like living in the cave man age," said a 29- year-old. "Nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares. They will no sooner run you down and run away than to spit in your face." An environment in which a majority of Americans believe that most people can't be trusted breeds attitudes that hold all politicians as corrupt, venal and self-serving, and government action is doomed to failure. Wages have stagnated, workers change jobs frequently and downsizing corporations offer little protection even to the most loyal of employees. Americans who feel most pessimistic about the economy also are more likely to see the government as a threat. Harvard and Kaiser are to separately publish their own analysis of the poll. The first article offers much more detail and is quite long, about a page and a half. Perhaps someone might offer a site where this and others in the series could be made available as they appear. If so, send me a note.