The hard facts are sobering: According to a new study, the quality of democracy has deteriorated over the past 20 years in 137 countries that are considered developing or emerging economies. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation’s “Transformation Index,” there are now 63 democracies compared to 74 autocracies. In other words, states that tend not to have free elections or a functioning constitutional state.
Decades of relentless propaganda about how capitalism is freedom, individualism is to nobly stand out from the herd, selfishness and greed are unchangeable human nature, owning and consuming material goods makes the best life, and any deviation from this plan is evil communism that would put us all in gulags.