How Would Authoritarianism Transform Your World if Putin Took Over?

If you’ve wondered how your beautiful liberal western democracy would devolve under the spreading threat of authoritarianism brought about by dictators like Putin, look to South Korea’s civil society. It’s a young democracy at odds with a recent authoritarian past so it’s a perfect test case of how life feels when you have a blend of the two systems operating at once.

How does that show up in the data? Pew Research took a global survey of ordinary people around the world and found that only South Korea valued ‘material well-being’ over any other life quality score. Yes, that means money is more important than your friends, family, community and freedom. It’s the mindset people are forced to adopt when they’re living in a society where dictators and oligarchs take everything and leave you to take care of yourself. Material well-being isn’t about champagne and caviar in this environment. It’s about survival and even your friends and family are sacrificed just to keep yourself fed.

Do you want more of Putin’s world to become yours?

Originally published at https://www.seoulite.tv on March 1, 2022.