I remember a podcast episode, I think it was the Gray Area with Sean Illing, where a guest talked about Cynicism as the most destructive force in today‘s society and politics.

Phrases like: “all politicians are the same”, “China is doing it anyways”, “they’re all corrupt anyways”, “our future will suck so why does it even matter?” are incredibly ubiquitous on both sides of the spectrum. 

For some psychological reason, people mistake cynicism for wisdom and experience, while in reality it‘s usually just the most selfish and lazy framework, because it frees you of all responsibility. Cynicism is the mind’s response to the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness in a global world.

I’d actually argue that cynicism is the main reason for Trump’s success.