Some significant issues in western democracy can be traced back to the 1980's and before the fall of communism. Untill then it was important at least for appear

Some significant issues in western democracy can be traced back to the 1980's and before the fall of communism. Untill then it was important at least for appearances to show western capitalism and democracy as the best and fairest political systems for all round prosperity. Reaganism, Thatcherism and neoliberlism of the Friedman kind unleashed a toxic ideology that legitimizes and surrenders all decision making and thinking to markets. It's like a religion and magical thinking. This disproportionately benefits those with economic power as it is intended to, but under the Orwellian use of words like 'freedom' and 'efficiency'. This concentrated economic power is then used to co-opt dissent by economic means or disarm it to make it meaningless. Academics along with a free press were a bulwark against unchecked power and provided dissent. Now they are too tied up with administration and securing grants to perform that role, and this is not an accident. The free press similarly have become too intertwined with entrenched interests and government and have been reduced to a mouth piece for propaganda and special interests.