Photo by Ruslan Khadyev

I have always supported the idea of government.

In a well-functioning democracy, voters elect their representatives to enact policies that reflect the priorities of the population. Ideally, such governments attend to the necessary functions of the state, like funding public education and maintaining the social safety net. Governments also uphold the constitutional order, ensuring that public institutions observe clearly delineated checks and balances, that the rules are fair, and that laws are updated to reflect changes in technology and belief systems.

In the best-case scenario, government helps those who can’t help themselves and, at the same time, creates public goods like free broadband Internet that benefit everyone. In the worst-case scenario, well, I’ll get to that in a moment.

I have maintained my support for the idea of government even when specific governments are doing horrible things. So, for instance, I have opposed many U.S. government actions overseas – engaging in unjust wars, embracing authoritarian leaders, supporting a global economy that favors corporations and rich individuals. But the greater such government policies stray from the ideal, the more I have worked to elect representatives who can enact different policies.

I still believe in government. But that belief is now being severely tested.

And I’m not alone.

This week, Pew Research came out with its latest survey of public opinion about the U.S. government. In 1964, about 75 percent of Americans believed in government—that is, they trusted that the government would do “what’s right” all or most of the time. In the latest numbers, which reflect the first year of Donald Trump’s second term, that number had dropped to 17 percent. Even Republicans, whose........

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