5. The centre must not fall

“For the vast majority of people, life is unlikely to get better in the next five years. If you belong to that group of people, then you already know that. Unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it.The worst of it is that unless something changes, then life is also likely to get a lot more violent. And not just other people’s lives. Yours as well.Do I want you to be afraid? No. But perhaps we should be.”In his fourth Monologue for Democracy, Ted riffs on an old poem by W.B. Yeats, while contending that far-right ideas once seen as fringe have entered the political mainstream, reshaping culture and policy across the West.As extremists push the limits of acceptability, centrists weaken, and violence becomes an increasingly plausible outcome.History warns us that collapse is not inevitable, but silence and apathy make it more likely. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thistimetomorrowpod.substack.com