cynicism dividend
/ˈsɪnɪsɪzəm ˈdɪvɪdɛnd/nounUnverifiedThe political or commercial gain reaped by actors who cultivate the belief that nothing works.
A discouraged electorate stays home; a cynical consumer stops asking for better. Cynicism is usually treated as a cost of bad governance, but for some actors it pays — which is why it is manufactured. The dividend is what the discouragement is for.
Etym. — cynicism + dividend, from finance: the return earned on an investment in despair.
Rel. — trustlag
Novelty check: UNVERIFIED · checked 2026-10-31
Web search was unreachable or blocked, so novelty could not be established.
Evidence log
| Query | Results checked | Same-sense matches |
|---|---|---|
| "cynicism dividend" | 0 | 0 |
| "cynicism dividend" meaning | 0 | 0 |
| "cynicism dividend" definition | 0 | 0 |
Method: quoted exact-match web search + dictionary lookup (dictionaryapi.dev)