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Business a harmonizing force in a polarized Asia
The biggest measured contributors to polarization are distrust in government and lack of a shared identity, followed by a feeling that the system is unfair.
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Members of labor organizations protest against the government’s decision to increase subsidized fuel prices, outside the House of Representatives building in Jakarta on Sept. 6, 2022. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
A
growing sense of distrust, and with it polarization, has been sweeping across our region and the world. It feeds on itself. It is driven by a combination of increased distrust in government and media, a lack of shared identity, a sense of systemic unfairness, economic pessimism and societal fears, all contributing to a more polarized society.
And once divided, a polarized community makes fostering trust all the more difficult.
These are the headline findings of the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer for the Asia Pacific region, published recently by Edelman, which has been studying the issue of societal trust for over two decades.
Understanding the social and political forces fueling these divisions is all the more critical given the backdrop against which they are playing out: looming inflation, a lingering war in Ukraine and rising China-United States tensions, the effects of all of which are being felt around our region.
These could also have electoral implications, as countries such as Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia move into higher political gear, with major elections in the cards.
Our latest report shows that overall trust in major institutions across the world is not only deteriorating but deepening at a societal level. In fact, 42 percent of this year’s respondents in Asia-Pacific say their country is more divided today than in the past.
Across Asia, six in 10 people say the lack of civility and mutual respect in their country is the worst they have experienced, and 61 percent say the social fabric that used to hold the country together is now too weak to do so. The fact that these regional figures are similar to the global average offers scarce comfort, given that harmony, civility and mutual respect have traditionally been seen as defining features of Asian societies.
