They never went in for political word games—played on both sides of the political spectrum—that serve to muddle the differences between freedom and actual oppression. This basic distinction between a democracy and an authoritarian regime is something I think about when I hear right-wing populists and woke ideologues alike pretend that our hard-won democratic institutions are a mask for tyranny or oppression. They clearly don’t know what it’s like to live under a truly oppressive regime.
