| ID | 153781 |
| Title Proper | Vigilance and confidence |
| Other Title Information | Jeremy Bentham, publicity, and the dialectic of political trust and distrust |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | BRUNO, JONATHAN R |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Distrust of public authorities is a mainstay of democratic politics. In recent decades, however, concern with surging civic suspicion has led political scientists to emphasize the value of trust for good government. This article advances a novel reading of Jeremy Bentham's political theory to shed light on the promise and perils of these two dispositions. Trust and distrust go together, in Bentham's account. In making this case, I reexamine Bentham's reflections on publicity, and distinguish between two perspectives implicit in his theory—the perspective of institutional design, and the perspective of popular oversight. This distinction brings clarity to Bentham's surprising recommendation: sober distrust toward public authorities generally, together with particularized trust in those (and only those) institutions or officials who prove themselves worthy of it. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 111, No.2; May 2017: p.295-307 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review 2017-06 111, 2 |
| Key Words | Vigilance and Confidence ; Jeremy Bentham ; Dialectic of Political Trust and Distrust |