What Is It About Government That Americans Dislike?

The American public’s level of hostility toward government became a major issue in the 1990s. In this edited volume, 24 of the country’s leading students of public attitudes toward government in the United States address the reasons for this hostility. In 14 original articles, the authors explain why people’s approval of government dropped so precipitously in the late 1960s, why some parts of the government (such as the Supreme Court) are better liked than others (such as the Congress), and why certain actions by political elites are particularly upsetting to much of the American public. Uniting several of the contributions is the theme that dissatisfaction with government occurs not just when people dislike governmental policies but also when they dislike the manner in which those policies are made. Another unifying theme is the potential danger of a public with nothing but its own disdain for its own political system.