A Crisis of Confidence

On many fronts

Photo credit: John Sirlin

Confidence is a funny concept. It is a fundamental strength humans can carry through life, but it is one built less on something tangible than something fragile, theoretical, and too often fleeting: trust. 

Right now, the world economy is facing a crisis of confidence in segments of the banking system. These were born from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the resulting waves of anxiety and uncertainty that have buffeted other financial institutions. 

The Biden administration and a slew of big banks have rushed in to try to limit the damage and calm the marketplace. In short, they know they need to restore confidence. They argue that people can have faith in the current fundamental economic climate, unlike with the Great Recession of 15 years ago, which remains all too vivid to those who lived through it. 

Back then the dominos fell, and they fell quickly, plunging the world economy into chaos. Big banks had played fast and loose with their investments, and that seemed fine as long as the good times rolled. But economic winds invariably turn, and a system built on unsustainable assumptions collapses. 

We seem to be in a different place today, likely due to the safeguards that were put in place under the Obama administration to prevent another banking sector meltdown. Many consider the weakening of those regulations for smaller banks — specifically the provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act — as a reason this present crisis occurred at all.

One of the important byproducts of government regulations is that they promote confidence. And it’s not just in banking. We trust that the food we eat is safe in part because we expect the government to be monitoring it. The same holds true for the medicine we take, the buildings we inhabit, and the planes and cars we use for transportation. 

Our society and governance, the underpinnings of civilization itself, are made possible through confidence. 

Our very system of laws is meant to encourage confidence in everything from redress for not being paid for our work, to the ownership of property, to our personal wellbeing. First responders at home and our military overseas are supposed to give us confidence that we will be safe. Our democratic system is supposed to give us confidence that we can peacefully live together, solve our problems, and resolve our differences. 

Yet on all these fronts, we see fissures in confidence. We have seen the traumas unleashed by the former president around the sanctity of our elections and the peaceful transfer of power. We see rising concerns around both crime and policing. We see plummeting trust in the Supreme Court.

We see a growing distrust between the divisions within our society around race, the rural-urban divide, our political parties, sexual identity, and on and on. The effects of this distrust are playing out in our schools, in our streets, and in the halls of power. 

When one adds in the looming specter of our climate crisis, the destabilizing effects of social media, the war in Ukraine, the rising belligerence of China, a nuclear-armed North Korea, and even the head-spinning acceleration of artificial intelligence, it can seem that we maybe shouldn’t feel confident about anything. 

Life will always be full of uncertainties, and there will always be a possibility that our confidence will be shaken, potentially without recourse. But knowing this can perhaps be part of the path to regaining a sense of equilibrium. Every era has had its challenges, its problems that seemed insurmountable, its touchstones for anxiety and distrust.

Some of these have been recurring, seemingly indelible features of the human experience. War has been one. And economic hardships have been another. There always will be concerns around our personal health and safety. That just goes with being alive. However, in all of these fronts, human society has made tremendous strides, even if that progress has been far too inequitably distributed. 

Confidence can be restored. But it’s not a passive exercise. While our electoral system remains vulnerable, it has been buttressed by the hard work of election officials, the reasoned decisions of our courts, and especially the tens of millions of voters who turned out in 2020 and 2022 to reject those who were advocating the destruction of our democratic order. 

Nevertheless, vigilance remains essential. But we can also find reasons for hope. Optimism and maybe even the stirrings of confidence can be found elsewhere as well. 

Look around and you will see many striving to fight back against the forces of dismay and destruction. There are the brave Ukrainians sacrificing to keep Russian aggression in check, the engineers developing new sources of clean energy, the social workers assisting the poor and marginalized to regain dignity, the teachers inspiring young minds, the nurses and doctors tending to the sick, and so many others. 

Confidence requires doing. It requires working, striving, helping, and ultimately action. Self-confidence can be contagious. And it can be formed in collaboration with others. 

With this in mind, there’s a wonderful quote that we have seen attributed in some form to the philosophers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Carlyle (and recently referenced on the Apple TV show “Ted Lasso”):

“Doubt can only be removed by action.”

Steady. 

Note: We’re deeply thankful for the Steady community. If you aren’t already a member, please consider subscribing. Both free and paid options are available.