Back in the run-up to the 2020 election, a group of political scientists ran down the most recent data on public support for democracy and authoritarianism. While there were plenty of reasons for concern, particularly about growing illiberalism in the Republican party, the overall picture showed signs of reassuring stability: the share of people saying things like “it’s very important to live in a democracy” and “democracy is preferable to any other form of government were high and steady. Public belief that democracy was a “good” way of running the country hovered around 90 percent for the entirety of the Trump era up until that point.
Americans are rapidly giving up on democracy
Americans are rapidly giving up on democracy
Americans are rapidly giving up on democracy
Back in the run-up to the 2020 election, a group of political scientists ran down the most recent data on public support for democracy and authoritarianism. While there were plenty of reasons for concern, particularly about growing illiberalism in the Republican party, the overall picture showed signs of reassuring stability: the share of people saying things like “it’s very important to live in a democracy” and “democracy is preferable to any other form of government were high and steady. Public belief that democracy was a “good” way of running the country hovered around 90 percent for the entirety of the Trump era up until that point.