The annual Edelman Trust Barometer was released in January, and the results highlight alarming concerns for citizens in democratic societies, including the United States.

For more than twenty years, the Edelman Barometer has sought to provide real-world insights based on the concerns of some 36,000 respondents in two dozen or more countries around the globe.

The survey’s overseer, Richard Edelman, identified a number of key takeaways from this year’s edition. Edelman highlighted the risks of a “government-media distrust spiral,” excessive reliance on business, “mass-class” divide, and leadership failures. None ought to be taken lightly.

According to Edelman, the bungled COVID-19 response from the leaders of developed democracies has taken a heavy toll. “People still want government to take on the big challenges, but only 4 in 10 say government can execute and get results,” he writes. Moreover, respondents in economically developed countries don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, believing they will be even worse off financially in five years.

Americans understand this as well as anyone. After the virus escaped Wuhan and crossed the ocean, our government released a bevy of promises. Many remember all too well the assurances of “fifteen days to slow the spread.” But fast forward to today, millions of schoolchildren missed a year and a half or more of in-person learning, consumer prices have gone through the roof, meat and other commodities are disappearing from supermarket shelves, and state-backed lawlessness is widespread in many municipalities.

On the media side, the findings are equally stunning. Some 59 percent of respondents in twenty-seven countries agreed that “journalists and reporters are purposefully trying to mislead people by saying things that are false and misleading.” Similarly, when asked if “most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public,” the reaction was again 59 percent in the affirmative. Indeed, Americans often find it so difficult to differentiate fact from satire that real life occasionally mimics a month-old Babylon Bee spoof.

The Barometer reveals that business receives significantly higher marks for taking a leadership role and delivering meaningful outcomes on societal issues. Companies are rated ten points higher than the government on the question of providing the cross-institutional leadership needed to solve problems. Shockingly, 65 percent of respondents believed that businesses “successfully execute plans and strategies that yield results,” while only 42 percent felt the same way about government.

By now, the Chamber of Commerce and Silicon Valley may have learned not to perform any more touchdown dances. While business is ranked highly overall, Republican respondents’ approval of business here at home fell 12 percentage points over the past year. And it’s no wonder. Even on a global scale, while clear majorities favor business leaders shaping and informing public policy, only 40 percent support the idea of CEOs endorsing political parties or candidates.

The report also points out that “the failure of leadership makes distrust the default” in democratic societies. It’s no longer hyperbole to speak of ominous similarities to the economic and societal chaos that provided fertile ground for authoritarian governments to take hold in Western lands during the previous century.

As the world attempts to emerge from the pandemic nightmare, it is more important than ever for democratic governments to begin accepting responsibility for their actions rather than shirking blame and censoring dissenting voices. Their citizens must feel safe in their homes and on the streets, be allowed to dissent peacefully, and know that there will always be food on the table.

Of course, dissatisfaction with America’s institutions was on the rise before the pandemic. It’s unlikely that Donald Trump’s candidacy, let alone his presidency, would have happened in its absence. The pandemic has only served to cement the view throughout the GOP electorate that corporate America is far too preoccupied with shipping manufacturing jobs to China, racking up profits at the expense of small businesses, and doing the bidding of government censors who seek to squelch legitimate debate.

The last point is particularly troubling, as the barely disguised effort to shut down opposing views represents a circumvention of Americans’ First Amendment rights. When a democratic republic behaves more like an authoritarian society than a free one, why should we be shocked when a growing number of Americans—whether on the right or left—conclude that the system is rigged against them and begin contemplating more radical alternatives?

Edelman warns the gatekeeping elites that “whatever short-term benefits [the] institution derives, it is a long-term catastrophe for society.”

To help stave off the extremism that is increasingly taking hold within America’s power centers, more lawmakers must prioritize pushing back against state encroachments on economic and civil liberties and devote far less time to remaining in the good graces of corporate and media elites.

The alternative may indeed be calamitous.

Jason Epstein is president of Southfive Strategies, LLC, an international public affairs consultancy.

Image: Reuters.