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By David Kirsch in authoritarians —

The Illusion of Democracy: Tolerance, Rigged Systems, and Authoritarian Drift

What looks like democracy is often just theater. Carefully staged, cynically funded, and collapsing under the weight of its own rigging. It’s not broken. It’s built this way.

A decaying Capitol prop on a dark stage, held by barbed wire and scaffolding. A spotlight shines as shadowy elites applaud, revealing democracy as hollow performance and illusion.
A dark, vintage-style political illustration depicting a dilapidated cardboard replica of the U.S. Capitol building set on a dimly lit theater stage. The Capitol dome is cracked and scorched, propped up by crude scaffolding and partially obscured by a crumbling barrier wrapped in barbed wire. A faint shadow of the Capitol appears projected onto the damaged surface, suggesting illusion or performance. A lone red spotlight shines ominously from above, while an "EXIT" sign glows in the background. In the foreground, faceless silhouettes of well-dressed audience members applaud, suggesting complicity or passive observation. The image evokes themes of decay, deception, and performative democracy.

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