Trust is the invisible infrastructure of economic life. It allows contracts to be enforced, capital to be allocated efficiently, and innovation to flourish. When trust is strong, markets are resilient and forward-looking. When trust erodes, risk premiums rise, volatility increases, and long-term investment gives way to short-term defensiveness.

For much of its history, the United States benefited from high levels of institutional trust—grounded in respect for the rule of law, predictable governance, and checks and balances. That trust has been a cornerstone of economic strength and global confidence.

Today, that foundation is under strain.

A Settled Baseline for Responsible Leadership

Responsible investing does not impose values on markets. Rather, it reflects the reality that markets depend on these norms to function over time. There is broad agreement today about what responsible leadership looks like in business. Across global markets, expectations for governance, integrity, accountability, and respect for human dignity are well established. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct clearly articulate these norms, emphasizing transparency, restraint in the exercise of power, and adherence to the rule of law.[i]

These Guidelines are not aspirational. They represent a widely shared international baseline for responsible conduct. They are formally adhered to by 52 nations, including the United States and China, and they define the standards that governments themselves expect multinational enterprises to meet.[ii]

What has become increasingly clear, however, is that U.S. political leadership is failing to meet these baseline expectations. The growing gap between what we demand of business and what we tolerate from government now poses a serious challenge to trust in institutions, in markets, and in public life.

The OECD Guidelines describe minimum conditions for legitimacy and long-term value creation. Businesses are expected to tell the truth, respect human rights, govern transparently, avoid corruption, and operate within the law. These expectations are enforced not only by regulation, but by markets themselves: credibility lowers the cost of capital, while misconduct increases risk and volatility.

Responsible business leaders understand this reality. While approaches differ, the underlying norms are broadly accepted and increasingly embedded in governance, compliance, and risk management.

These expectations are deeply familiar to faith traditions as well. Catholic social teaching, Episcopal and Anglican statements on economic life, and Quaker testimonies on integrity and stewardship converge on the same core principles: the inherent dignity of every person, moral limits on the exercise of power, honesty in public life, care for the vulnerable, and accountability to the broader community.[iii]

Faith Leaders Are Speaking with Clarity and Urgency

In recent months, religious leaders across traditions have spoken with unusual frequency and urgency about the condition of public life. Senior Catholic leaders have issued rare joint statements questioning whether public policy remains sufficiently grounded in moral restraint and respect for human dignity. Bishops have emphasized due process and the humane treatment of vulnerable populations. Episcopal leaders, Jewish organizations, Muslim civil-rights advocates, Quaker communities, and interfaith coalitions have raised parallel concerns about truthfulness, legality, restraint, and the concentration of power.[iv]

These interventions are not partisan. They represent moral witnessing—calling political leadership to meet standards that have long guided responsible conduct in business and society. Many of our faith-based clients have been active and vocal in this effort. Their leadership reflects centuries-old traditions of stewardship and accountability, and it deserves recognition and support.

A Unified Demand for Better

Responsible business leaders, faith leaders, and long-term investors are remarkably aligned in this moment. Businesses are expected to operate within clear global norms. Faith leaders are reaffirming foundational moral principles. Investors are incorporating governance risk and institutional integrity into capital allocation decisions.

Government, however, has increasingly fallen out of step.

As a result, we now find ourselves forced to operate several levels below established standards. Before debating policy preferences or ideological differences, we must insist on fundamentals: that political leaders tell the truth, respect the inherent dignity of every person, and govern within the bounds of the rule of law.

The United States is responsible for—and capable of—governing much better than what we are witnessing in this moment. Its institutions were designed for accountability, restraint, and renewal. But those outcomes require leadership willing to operate within shared norms and respect institutional guardrails.

At Boston Common Asset Management, we serve responsible investors and faith-based investors who understand that markets cannot remain healthy when trust in public institutions deteriorates. We echo and support the calls from religious leaders for political leadership that reflects widely held moral standards. Together, we are demanding much better from government—not perfection, not ideological conformity, but honesty, dignity, legality, and restraint. Insisting on these basics is not radical. It is responsible—and necessary—if trust is to be restored.

[i] OECD, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (latest update, 2023).

[ii] The OECD Guidelines are adhered to by 52 countries, including the United States and China, each of which commits to promoting the Guidelines and maintaining a National Contact Point to support implementation and address concerns.

[iii] See, for example: Vatican, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; Episcopal Church statements on economic justice; Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Testimony of Integrity.

[iv] Public statements by Catholic cardinals and bishops (2025–2026); Episcopal Church leaders; Jewish, Muslim, Quaker, and interfaith organizations addressing rule of law, human dignity, restraint in the use of force, and due process.