Status Updates From Como as democracias morrem

If, twenty-five years ago, someome had described to you a country in which candidates threatened to lock up their rivals, political opponents accused the government of stealing the election or establishing a dictatorship, and parties used their legislative majorities to impcach presidents and steal supreme court seats, you might have thought of Ecuador or Romania. You probably would not have thought of the US.

Polarization can destroy democratic norms. When socioeconomic, racial, or religious differences give rise to extreme partisanship, in which societies sort themselves into political camps whose worldviews are not just different but mutually exclusive, toleration becomes harder to sustain.