Understanding Loneliness

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Global data shows democracy and freedoms have declined for 20 straight years worldwide.

Rising loneliness and distrust are key drivers of democratic erosion today.

Everyday neighbouring can strengthen community and help rebuild civic life.

In April, the Pew Research Center reported that the health of American democracy declined markedly according to several empirical measures over the past year. Yet it’s not just the United States. The trend is global. The NGO Freedom House reports that freedom around the world fell for the 20th consecutive year in 2025—looking at measures ranging from press to surveillance to religious liberties. In Turkey, the recent detention of Istanbul’s mayor provoked mass protests and hundreds of detentions. In the United Kingdom, an April report from an official government watchdog found that counterterrorism laws have sometimes blurred the lines between protests and security threats. From Asia to Africa to the Americas, Freedom House has found that the internet is now more controlled and manipulated than ever, with censorship, surveillance, and information manipulation increasingly common.

What’s behind these trends? Seventy-five years ago, the political philosopher Hannah Arendt gave a powerful but unexpected explanation. “Loneliness,” she argued. Democratic norms decline when people experience a kind of “loneliness” that might be described as estrangement from common life: the loss of trust, a shared fact base, and meaningful connection to community and to public life. In such conditions, people become easier to isolate, manipulate, and rule. Today, in an age of social media silos,........

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