The Path Forward to a More Functional Society: Restoring Meaning and Legitimacy in American Governance
This weekend, Americans took to the streets in all 50 states—not only to protest a political figure but also to demand a government that genuinely works for everyone. From veterans and teachers to students and small business owners, citizens rallied for voting rights, public education, national parks, and fundamental economic security.
The signs they carried—"Hands Off My Democracy," "Stop the Coup," and "For All People, Not Just Billionaires"—revealed a more profound sentiment than anger: a lasting faith in democratic ideals, even amid widespread frustration.
Far from signaling collapse, protest serves as a form of civic engagement. It is an urgent call for accountability, inclusion, and shared responsibility—a grassroots assertion that legitimacy must be earned, not assumed. American society continues to function, but too many individuals are left behind by unresponsive or inaccessible systems. To build a society that works for everyone, we must confront a twin crisis directly: a loss of institutional trust and a hollowing out of civic meaning.
What Makes a Society Function?
To understand the roots of this crisis, we turn to Peter Drucker, the management thinker who fled fascist Europe and dedicated his life to understanding how societies succeed—or unravel. In his 1942 work, A Functioning Society, Drucker argued that a society can only thrive when people trust its institutions and believe they have a meaningful role within them.
That insight feels more urgent today than ever before.
When legitimacy erodes—when institutions appear performative rather than effective—people lose faith. And when they feel excluded, not just economically but also emotionally and morally, dangerous alternatives take root. In The End of Economic Man (1939), Drucker observed that "the masses turned to fascism not because they agreed with its doctrines, but in spite of them." What they sought was not ideology, but meaning and belonging in a world that had stripped them of both.
Drucker warned that societies cannot function solely on coercion or performance; power must be rooted in shared values. His framework allows us to understand today’s dysfunction better—not as a failure of intention, but as a breakdown of connection, delivery, and trust.
The Erosion of Legitimacy America’s political gridlock is more than a procedural flaw—it constitutes a legitimacy crisis. Trust in government, media, and even democracy itself is eroding. Although institutions still exist, they no longer operate in ways that inspire public confidence.
In Washington, executive orders increasingly circumvent legislative processes, while lawmakers pursue headlines with messaging bills instead of developing sustainable policy. As Drucker foresaw, this is a system that performs but no longer operates.
Congress, once a space for forging consensus, has turned into a theater of tribal conflict. The presidency, across various administrations, continues to bypass checks and balances. Drucker’s warning that "force is the ultimate safeguard of every power" feels less abstract today, more like a backdrop to the rise of creeping authoritarianism.
This dysfunction is not limited to the federal level. In Los Angeles, despite billions spent and substantial policy focus, homelessness continues. Economic development is still fragmented. Ethical scandals divert attention from meaningful progress. These failures intensify the public’s perception that government isn’t fulfilling its promises—regardless of its intentions.
Even liberal governance, often committed to equity, can fall into the trap noted by Drucker and others: mistaking complex processes for tangible outcomes. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, in their book* Abundance*, highlight that procedural liberalism can suffocate its own goals. Regulatory thickets, jurisdictional overlap, and endless permitting delays frequently block progress. The result? Unfulfilled promises and eroded trust.
The Loss of Meaning Parallel to this erosion of legitimacy is a pervasive loss of meaning in civic life.
Many Americans no longer feel they have a valued place in society. Men, in particular, are lagging behind in education, economic opportunities, and community involvement. The decline of manufacturing, the weakening of civic institutions, and the rise of unstable gig work have stripped millions of their stake in the future.
This is not a matter of scarcity—America remains a nation of abundance. Instead, it’s about allocation. As journalist Jerusalem Demsas notes, scarcity is often perceptual rather than material. When people feel invisible or excluded, resentment festers. The solution is not austerity—it’s inclusion. Abundance must be experienced in tangible ways: access to housing, healthcare, education, and a sense of purpose.
This extends beyond an economic dilemma—it’s a crisis of belonging. When opportunity appears to be a zero-sum game, individuals cease viewing each other as fellow citizens and begin perceiving rivals. This division undermines the foundation of democratic life.
Let's Restore Meaning and Legitimacy Together
We cannot establish legitimacy without restoring meaning—and vice versa. These two crises are interconnected, and any serious solution must address both.
Rebuilding Meaning
In his essay "How to Destroy What Makes America Great," David Brooks argues that successful societies are "crossroads nations"—diverse, open, and rich with pathways for personal contribution. Such cultures flourish when individuals are enabled to create, collaborate, and contribute.
Brooks celebrates "diversive curiosity"—a fusion of ideas, experiences, and purposes that allows individuals to explore their identity through engagement. However, this type of civic vitality demands more than mere rhetoric. It relies on affordable housing, educational opportunities, and economic mobility—conditions that are becoming increasingly unattainable in many American cities.
Thompson and Klein observe that liberal states such as California and New York frequently falter due to procedural overload, not due to bad intentions. In these regions, the abundance agenda crumbles under red tape, political caution, and bureaucratic delays. When systems fail to deliver, the public loses faith—not only in policy but also in possibility.
Rebuilding Legitimacy
Restoring legitimacy involves rebuilding trust, which is earned not through marketing but through a clear mission. People need to see institutions that embody shared values and successfully achieve their stated goals.
In a 1956 address at Harvard, John F. Kennedy cautioned against slogans devoid of intellectual substance. He contended that governance necessitates "the technical judgment and the impartial perspective of the scholar." Effective leadership requires humility, competence, and commitment—not merely charisma or conflict.
That lesson remains relevant today. Ulysses S. Grant wrote in his Personal Memoirs that "it is preposterous to suppose that the people of one generation can lay down the best and only rules of government for all who are to come after them." Democracy must evolve. Legitimacy comes from applying timeless principles—accountability, service, and restraint—to modern challenges.
Peter Drucker echoed this belief. To him, the U.S. Constitution was not a tool for government power but a restraint on it. It protected individual freedoms and affirmed that authority must rest on the consent of the governed. In Drucker’s view, legitimacy required institutions to serve, not control.
The importance of service is illustrated through the divergent paths of George Washington and Benedict Arnold. As chronicled in Dave R. Palmer’s* George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots*, both men felt unrecognized by the Continental Congress. However, while Arnold chose betrayal, Washington upheld principle. His example of restraint and commitment helped establish the American tradition of trustworthy leadership. Arnold’s defection serves as a reminder: legitimacy crumbles when ego overtakes purpose.
Path Forward: Character, Community, and Functionality
To build a truly functioning society, we must restore both meaning and legitimacy. This requires strengthening institutions that deliver—not just promise. It involves creating economic and civic systems where people can contribute meaningfully and feel connected to something larger than themselves.
Drucker wrote, "Every social institution exists because it satisfies a need of man." Today, that need is urgent. We require systems that provide dignity, cultivate trust, and inspire people to invest in the future.
We need leadership grounded in character. We require more leaders like Washington—those who prioritize service over ego and principles over power. We must unite the public, private, and social sectors around a shared mission. Legitimacy cannot be fabricated; it must be proven.
The protests filling our streets do not signify collapse—they signal hope. Americans still believe that this country can uphold its ideals. They are not asking for perfection; they are asking for dignity, fairness, and the opportunity to contribute.
The system still functions—though unevenly. We possess the tools, talent, and resources to improve. Now, we require both the will and the leadership. To make our abundance a reality for everyone.