U.S. Added to Annual List of Backsliding Democracies for the First Time

[mastermind]

Politics is too subjective to use terms like “always” and the wave of populism happening globally is a sign that decentralization is bad. Especially when it’s being promoted by both corporate and foreign influences seeking to disrupt American government hegemony and break into the markets and supply chains that let many Americans maintain a high level of living.

Basically we need a strong central government to rebuff those pricks so the majority of us can hope to have and maintain the “a chicken in every pot” lifestyle America use to be known for. It’s not a coincidence that as decentralization rises we see a lowering in living standards nationally. The two go hand in hand. Weak presidents like Trump and Biden are also part of the problem and a symptom at the same time.

I disagree, i think what we are seeing around the world and here at home is a sign that government power is being centralized under the thumb of corporate elites.
Consolidating power into the hands of bought and paid for politicians is a recipe for disaster and will slowly kill our democracy.

I think you both are right. The US having a weak government and being centralized is leading to elites controlling the country.

Saying that, having anything decentralized in the US leads to Jim Crow.

The answer is capitalism sucks.

 

[Wargames]

I think you both are right. The US having a weak government and being centralized is leading to elites controlling the country.

Saying that, having anything decentralized in the US leads to Jim Crow.

The answer is capitalism sucks.

You could be right, one of, if not the worst thing to get passed into law in our lifetime was Citizen United. Is escalated the rot on the federal level which in turn allowed the state level to slither back into Jim Crow as a side effect.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

@ogc163 is this just more scaremongering from the left?

 

[Secure Da Bag]

The whole world is really struggling with capitalism more acutely corporatism right now.

 

[ogc163]

@ogc163 is this just more scaremongering from the left?

Yup.

 

[ORDER_66]

Backsliding?!!? shyt they have no idea...

 

[Wargames]

We’re living in the real New World Order but nobody is calling it out any more. Call it the modern Gilded age or corporatism. All these companies can do what they want with basically no consequence. However, at a certain point they aren’t equipped to do anything but make some already rich people, richer. This comes at the expense of everyone’s (including the rich and wealthy) livelihood. fukk the environment up to make shareholders a Billion but we all breathing in the same sulfur smelling air. Offshore your company to China and support a regime that releases COVID 19. Create a Opioid crisis and live in fear of homeless drug users.

Guillotines come in a lot of different forms. Sometimes it’s just the consequences of your actions.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Yup.

Ivory tower view must be glorious

 

[Professor Emeritus]

We need to increase decentralization, move power and responsibility back to the states and closer to the people.

Democracy in the states is backsliding even faster than at the federal level.

* Insane levels of gerrymandering such that populations with just 50-55% of one party are running legislative supermajorities
* New election laws to selectively reduce voter participation
* Open partisans who don't even care about free and fair elections running for critical election governance positions
* Governors passing draconian policies banning books, banning school districts from teaching legitimate subjects, banning school districts from enacting common-sense health care policies, banning workplaces from governing their own health care rules, and on and on.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

The whole world is really struggling with democracy right now.

It's fukking wild. I have a certain # of countries that I follow especially closely cause i've either lived there, worked there, or have close connections there. Over the last decade every single one of them has either become a military dictatorship or gotten taken over by Trump-like proto-fascists.

 

[Cynic]

Nah, its more decentralization with stronger protections.
More decisions need to be made closer to the people.


The whole purpose of a decentralized political system is to make citizens more active in the decision-making process...centralized power tends to always be less democratic (and more corrupt).

It doesn't matter when mega-corps can literally indoctrinate and mould citizens opinions.

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

It’s well deserved. Honestly? I think we’ve seen America’s best days and it’s only going to go downhill. Eventually the nature of this state is going to tear it apart. If nothing else, at least the rest of the world won’t be held hostage by American exceptionalism and imperialism.