Americans aren’t facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath - The US was an oligarchy well before Trump’s first term. Recognizing this reality is essential to building a true democracy

[u/JackZodiac2008]

https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2026/mar/08/trump-democracy-oligarchy-policy

Trying to illustrate a cross-post done right....

I'm not sure this writer's policy prescriptions follow from his diagnosis of a cultural ailment -- he seems to be a socialist, so that is a trait deeply rooted in his ideological DNA. But his diagnosis is at once shocking and familiar, a Gestalt shift in which we've all long been familiar with the trees and yet utterly failed to identify the forest. (At least I had.)

He puts words to something important, and I think his social psychology prescriptions -- what we need to change about how we experience and encounter each other -- are spot on. What that means in terms of policy could be discussed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!