- A NYT Scale of markers of democratic erosion;
- Heather Cox Richardson’s even-handed assessment of the SNAP crisis;
- Jerry Coyne dismantles Arthur C. Brooks’ arguments for not dismissing the idea of God;
- (And my take on how the common conceptions of God betray a several lack of imagination, even a conceptual limit to human cognition);
- Short takes on the SNAP program, how ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have plummeted, and the newly MAGA CBS News has fired its climate change team;
- Even shorter takes from the fringe.
Two days ago I noted an essay that described five ways you can tell when America has become a dictatorship.
Today comes an analogous, much more elaborate piece at NYT, designed to be scrolled through, listing 12 “markers of democratic erosion,” with scales showing how far along we are along each one, moving away from democracy.
NY Times, Editorial Board, 31 Oct 2025: Are We Losing Our Democracy?
Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.
Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose.
I’ll screen-capture the first.
