Public trust in government is in decline. Just 17% of Americans say they trust Washington to do what's right "most of the time" or "just about always."

One response has been a push for radical transparency. Americans are frustrated, so the instinct is to demand a clearer view of how decisions get made. That has meant a greater willingness to leak internal information and growing calls for cameras inside the Supreme Court. In 2025, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act, which would require the court to televise its open proceedings.

But the instinct is wrong. Not every institution works better in the open. Private deliberation often makes compromise possible precisely because it removes the pressure to perform for voters.

We're a democracy, but transparency isn't always good

A common misconception is that more transparency is always better. We're a democracy, after all, so giving people more access to........

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