Well, I guess if you think democracy is good (you should), then you'll think this is bad news.
Every year since 2006 more democracies have experienced erosion in political rights and civil liberties than have registered gains
Democracy Takes a Global Hit
Mark P. Lagon and Arch Puddington write that in 2015 democracy took a global hit as powerful dictatorships—China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia—extended their antidemocratic influence abroad. But there were a few promising signs.
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Just to play devil's advocate here, but why again is democracy inherently good? Was it inherently good when it excluded women and minorities and poors from participating? Is it inherently good when it results in fascists or communists being elected into power (i.e. when through legal democratic processes the electorate decides to abandon it)?
It's not inherently good or the best. There's other systems of government I'd like to see tried, like Robin Hanson's futurarchy, and if democratic institutions were eroding in favor of institutions that were more likely to make people more free, more happy, put less people in neglected or oppressed classes, that would be a cause for celebration. Unfortunately, that's not what is happening.
As I said I'm in favor of real experimentation of alternative systems of government. unfortunately, people make politics part of their identity, so that's not going to happen in any helpful way, and since on average democracy leads to better outcomes for people compared to everything else we've tried, it's better for democracy to not be eroded.
You're way more of an optimist than I am, Dustin.
Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean exactly. I'm pessimistic about better forms of government taking hold in the short to medium term. I'm pessimistic about people experiencing more or the same amount of freedom or happiness-attributable-to-system-of-government in the short to medium term.