What is Good Faith?

Oxford defines good faith as "honesty or sincerity of intention." Lawyers describe it as "honest dealing."

I'll add another layer to those definitions. You need to believe in positive-sum outcomes. What does good faith mean to you? I am toying with the idea of ending all my episodes with this question.

So much of what we want in this world requires good faith. And so much of what's happening right now destroys it. Trump is a good-faith wrecking ball. And all that lying about Biden's cognitive decline broke trust to an extent the Democratic Party has yet to acknowledge.

Am I naive to expect good faith from our leaders? The incentives certainly don't encourage it. Operate in good faith and you'll get primaried. You won't get asked onto Fox or MSNBC. No one will watch your TikTok. You'll lose donors and then elections.

Our media face the same perverse incentives. The algorithms learned that enragement is the best mechanism for engagement. Engagement sells ads. Making advertising the business model for journalism was a disastrous choice. It's a good-faith killing virus.

So it's especially heartening when I see public figures acting in good faith. John McWhorter's new book makes a progressive case for using "they/them" pronouns. And John is a long-time, outspoken critic of wokeness. The arguments in his book might make you angry, but you can trust that McWhorter is an honest broker.

In 2020 Dr. Jay Bhattacharya was excommunicated for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration. A position the merits of which even the New York Times now acknowledges. Go back to coverage of that moment in 2020, and on both sides you'll see rampant bad faith.

Bhattacharya now leads the NIH, directly reporting to RFKjr, who reports to Trump. Imagine the many personal and professional incentives for Jay to spike the football. Yet he's found a way to see positive-sum possibilities. His primary policy position is calling for more replication studies. What better way to restore trust in science and its institutions?

What prominent politicians do you see acting in good faith? I see few. AOC and Bernie are onto something with their anti-oligarch tour. But they've yet to articulate an affirmative vision. Who else is putting out good-faith arguments?

Good faith and good habits are similar; their benefits accrue over the long haul. Bad faith and bad habits tickle our erogenous zones, but do so much harm over time.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on good faith. What does it mean to you, and do you think it's important? How can we train it?