This is the Tom Hartman program.

Is the anti-democracy movement here in the United States and frankly around the world reaching a tipping point.

Yesterday Politico published an interview with Ukrainian President Zolinsky

titled Zolinsky warns Russia has penetrated US politicsS. politics.

It's a chilling read and to compound the concern, the EU's top diplomat Joseph Farel said

this week, and I quote, Russia threatens Europe.

A high intensity conventional war in Europe is no longer a fantasy.

So you know what's going on here?

Well democracy is in trouble.

It's in trouble here in the United States where you have Republicans

in the House and the Senate openly taking the side of Vladimir Putin over Democratic

Ukraine. It's in trouble basically all over the world. And in fact Freedom House

in 2021 reported and I quote, the share of countries designated not free has reached its

highest level since the

deterioration of democracy began in 2006. The countries with declines in

political rights and civil liberties outnumbered those with gains by the largest margin recorded during the 15-year

period. The report downgraded the freedom scores of 73 countries

representing 75% of the The real issue here I think is pretty straightforward.

What's the best way for humans to govern themselves?

I mean you've got 7,000 years of modern history,

you know post-agricultural revolution history, that suggests that, well,

for most all of that time, humans have been governed by top-down hierarchies, by kings, by pop-down hierarchies, by kings, by popes, by mullahs, different cultures have different words for

...