The world is becoming less free and democratic. And we can thank the U.S. in part. Certainly Trump contributed that demise. But the declining trend precedes the former fascism-in-chief. It’s a very ominous sign:
- More bad news for democracy defenders: A new report confirms worldwide declines in freedom for the 15th year in a row, and the United States isn’t helping matters.
- Overall, 73 of the 195 countries analyzed in the report received lower freedom scores in 2020 than the year prior. Only 28 nations saw improvements. (The 94 remaining countries didn’t have any significant changes.) This difference in the number of countries that improve versus worsen — the so-called “democracy gap” — has been growing over the last 15 years and saw its widest rift last year.
- The 2020 report labeled 82 countries as “free,” which is the fewest since 2005 and they account for less than 20 percent of the world’s population. Meanwhile, the number of countries considered “not free” reached an all-time high of 54. And 59 countries were considered “partly free.”
The 99 Percenters 