July 8, 2025
Certainly, the importance of rights, freedoms, and democracy is immense.
However, I also keep in mind that political systems are ultimately judged by the well-being, or lack thereof, they produce.
Fascism collapsed not because people yearned for freedom, but because it led to unprecedented wartime disasters.
Democracy gained ground because it ushered in economic miracles.
The demise of communism was sealed by its failure to achieve the levels of prosperity seen in Western societies.
And so we can continue through history:
The French Revolution was not supported by the French people for the sake of liberties (which, incidentally, weren't even truly realized; quite the opposite), but because it abolished feudalism. Similarly, the southern Italian peasants (known as "cafoni") overthrew the Parthenopean Republic because they realized it brought no improvements to their conditions, instead favoring only the wealthy, and so on.