Why Don't We Trust the Elites? (With Aaron Renn)

Why is there so much anti-elite sentiment in the world today? Is it the fault of the elites themselves, or cultural trends they can't control? Joseph Holems and Nathan Clarkson talk to culture critic and author Aaron Renn on their latest episode.

Defining elites:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elite

https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145542?

American trust in institutions at all-time low. https://news.gallup.com/poll/712436/confidence-institutions-remains-near-time-low.aspx

Global trust decreasing from fear to grievance: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer

Anti-elite sentiment worldwide: https://www.ipsos.com/en/populism-remains-strong

Christopher Nolan on democracies and greatness: https://singjupost.com/transcript-christopher-nolan-interview-with-podcaster-zhong-shu/

Low trust makes problems harder to solve: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/how-americans-see-problems-of-trust/

Tyranny of merit hypothesis: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-tyranny-of-merit-with-michael-sandel/

Democratization of information hypothesis: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/revolt-of-the-public-10-years-on

Elite overproduction hypothesis: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-elite-overproduction-hypothesis-994