Renowned scholar Yuval Levin joins Curtis Chang to discuss the concept of 'the anxious institution', exploring the role institutions play in causing and experiencing anxiety. They discuss the importance of institutions in preserving traditions, the significance of institutional ceremonies, and the impact of institutional breakdown. They also delve into how media amplifies anxiety and the need for institutional innovation.
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Quick takeaways
The breakdown of institutions in American society has contributed to the anxiety many people feel today.
Loss of purpose and confusion about one's role within institutions can lead to anxiety.
Anxieties within institutions, such as the media, can further contribute to the anxious environment in society.
Deep dives
Institutions as a Source of Anxiety
Institutions play a critical role in shaping our roles, virtues, and ethical judgments. They provide us with a sense of belonging and purpose, allowing us to understand our place in the world. When institutions fail to provide us with a role or an object of devotion, anxiety can arise as we struggle to navigate the future without clear guidance. The breakdown of institutions in American society has led to a loss of trust and a sense of placelessness, contributing to the anxiety many people feel today.
The Importance of Roles in Institutions
Roles within institutions are important in shaping our ethical judgments. They guide us in making decisions based on our responsibilities and the kind of person we want to be. When institutions weaken or fail to define our roles, it becomes difficult to make ethical decisions and know how to behave. Loss of purpose and confusion about one's role can lead to anxiety. Institutions provide the structure and trust necessary for individuals to understand themselves and their place in the world.
The Media as an Anxious Institution
The media, particularly the news media, is an example of an anxious institution. The disruptive nature of technology and economic pressures have led to a sense of instability and fear for the future. To cope with internal anxiety, the media often uses anxiety itself to build an audience and keep people engaged. Sensationalism and stoking anxiety have become common strategies to maintain viewership. This cycle of an anxious institution creating more anxiety further contributes to the anxious environment in society.
The Role of Institutions in Managing Anxiety
Institutions play a crucial role in managing anxiety by relieving individuals from the burden of worrying about every possible future loss. Anxiety arises from the fear of future loss, and institutions act as anxiety-holding beings that take on the worries for society. By outsourcing concerns to specific institutions, such as the CDC for public health or the CIA for terrorism, individuals can focus on their own lives without going insane with anxiety. However, as institutions break down and lose their ability to hold worry for society, anxiety levels increase. Fragile institutions, especially those taking on roles beyond their purpose, are losing public trust and failing to effectively manage anxiety.
Institutions Suffering from Anxiety and the Importance of Trust
Institutions themselves can embody anxiety when they lack self-confidence and experience a loss of public trust. Trust is a crucial component of institutions, relying on demonstrated restraint and competence. Mistrust arises when people believe institutions have no boundaries and will abuse their power or exceed their responsibilities. The loss of belief in institutional restraint fuels public distrust. This erosion of trust is further exacerbated by the current culture of expressive engagement, where institutions and individuals are pressured to express the right opinions rather than focus on their core mission. To combat this, institutions must maintain a sense of purpose, avoid mission creep, make hard decisions, and cultivate trust by demonstrating both competence and restraint.
In the diagnosis of the epidemic of anxiety sweeping through society, the examination has tended to focus on individual risk factors or macro-social trends (like social media and smartphone adoption among teens). But this misses something going on at the intermediary level between individuals and mass society: the state of the institutions that shape so much of our daily life. Curtis is joined by renowned scholar Yuval Levin in exploring the concept of “the anxious institution.” They make the case that institutions both externally cause and internally experience anxiety in fascinating and important ways.
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