GoodWork Paper 43: Can There Be Societal Trustees in America Today?

Author(s): Howard Gardner

Editor(s): Jeff Solomon, Series Editor

Media: Paper

Description: A half century ago, the idea of the American trustee was a familiar one. At that time, one could readily name several individuals who were well known, widely respected. and claimed to be disinterested in the sense that they were not strongly identified with a single party or interest group. When the country faced problems, both the elite and ordinary citizens looked to these individuals for guidance—hence, they were often termed “wise men.” Gardner discusses the decline of trustees in American society and describes an empirical investigation of the phenomenon of social trusteeship. Gardner wonders whether there is a contemporary equivalent of past days trustees or whether the concept of trustees is one whose time has perhaps come and gone.