Authors Meet Critics: Teodoro, Zuhlke & Switzer’s “The Profits of Distrust”

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Session Description

This panel brings together a distinguished panel of scholars of public administration and urban politics to discuss Manny Teodoro, Samantha Zuhlke, and David Switzer’s 2022 book, “The Profits of Distrust: Citizen-Consumers, Drinking Water, and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government.” The new book links the quality and equity of basic services to trust in government, consumer behavior, and citizen political participation.

With drinking water in the United States is an empirical focus, “The Profits of Distrust” links citizens' choices about the water they drink to civic life more broadly. The burgeoning bottled water industry presents a paradox: Why do people choose expensive, environmentally destructive bottled water, rather than cheaper, sustainable, and more rigorously regulated tap water? Marshaling a rich variety of data on public opinion, consumer behavior, political participation, geography, and water quality, Teodoro, Zuhke & Switzer connect the meteoric rise of bottled water to declining trust in American government. Since distrust of government is a key to their growth, commercial drinking water firms seek to undermine trust in tap water—often through misinformation and ethnically-targeted advertising.

The principle that governments maintain their legitimacy by providing for their people’s essential needs is at the heart of liberal democracy. Basic services are thus the bedrock of democratic legitimacy. “The Profits of Distrust” argues that failing, inequitable basic services cause citizen-consumers to abandon government in favor of commercial competitors. When citizens exit public services in favor of commercial alternatives, governments lose both incentives and resources for better performance. A vicious cycle of distrust thus settles in, undermining democracy while commercial firms reap the profits of distrust – disproportionately so from the poor and racial/ethnic minority communities. But the vicious cycle can also be virtuous: excellent basic services build trust in government and foster greater engagement between citizens and the state. Rebuilding confidence in American democracy starts with literally rebuilding the basic infrastructure that sustains life.

Panelists will critique "The Profits of Distrust" and discuss plans for the next phases of research on the relationship between administration of basic services, trust in government, citizen-consumer behavior, and the fate of democracy.

Sub Unit

• Division 24: Public Administration

Chair

• Robert Maranto University of Arkansas

Presenters

• Domonic A. Bearfield George Washington University

• Ramiro Berardo The Ohio State University

• Ann O'M. Bowman Texas A&M University

• Ashley E. Nickels Kent State University

• Manny P. Teodoro University of Wisconsin