ABSTRACT
Respect can no longer be inherited through birthright or claimed through position. While this hardly needs saying, the eclipse of deference is actually a recent phenomenon. Its decline began with the social upheavals of the 1960s, especially among young people. This period was marked by protests in Europe and North America that challenged societal norms, changed attitudes and furthered the cause of human rights and social equality. Any last vestiges of positional deference have been purged of late by revelations of corruption and degeneracy among politicians, church leaders, bankers and media personalities. In Britain, government ministers, business executives, and bankers are among the least trusted by the general public. 1 As numerous individuals in these professions have fallen from grace, they have revealed systemic failings at the heart of the establishment. So, in turn, the standing of these institutions and the fields they represent has become diminished.
