What would an undemocratic America look like?

[matt819]

Many here and elsewhere have commented on what it’s going to take and how long it’s going to take to undo the damage this regime is doing. I sincerely hope that a Democratic political team somewhere is tracking every single one of the destructive policies and developing a plan for the next Democratic president to undo them.

At the same time, others have lamented the impending destruction of American democracy and America itself. I think this is hyperbolic, but it does raise some questions.

What does an undemocratic America look like? What does this entail? Purges of “deep state“ federal employees? Nationalization of banks and investment banks? What is the suggestion this morning of nationalizing the 5G network a trial balloon? For that matter, has everything been a trial balloon? In other words, let’s see how far we can take the erosion of the federal bureaucracy. The response to this could be an endorsement of further crackdowns to come. Martial law? Protests in the street? Painfully long court cases? How does Wall Street respond? General strikes? Etc. etc.

It’s “easy” to speculate on something as vast as the distraction of the country, but I can’t help but wonder what this looks like. Or maybe we are just all frogs in a pot of boiling water.

[haele]

1. El Salvador.

Millionaires and Billionaires in gated compounds, everyone else pretty much struggling for some sort of position in the hierarchy under them. Corporations run as private fiefdoms. Policing and laws maintained either by a military or by corporate sponsored security systems and "judges". Good healthcare would be a privilege to be paid for. Everyone else would have to go to understaffed clinics that are supported by charity.
A strong "national" religion. Education above what would have been considered 6th grade level in the early 2000's - even in what is left of public/public-chartered schools - would be pretty much a luxury.

An undemocratic society either needs to be relatively small, or have a massive disposable non-citizen underclass that is poorly educated and powerless despite it's numbers to be able to survive.

There would be lots of transients (migrant/trafficked workers or wandering homeless looking for a place to settle for a while) and neighborhoods controlled by "gangs" - some being crime related, some being "protective societies", where neighborhoods basically are run by whatever local leader or strongman can hold them together.
There would be corporate dormitories and company stores, where the larger corporations would house and support the workforce so long as they can continue to work.

Basically, if this is an undemocratic country, anything "good for a person" - even something as minor as recreation and time to recoup from stress or injury - must be able to be paid for.

Haele