Advertise on podcast: It’s a Slow-Moving Car Wreck and We’re All In It

In 2014, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote an essay titled, “America in Decay.” In political science, institutional decay occurs when governments and other important organizations cease to respond adequately to the population’s needs. The causes of decay can be both malicious—rampant corruption, d******d leaders, etc.—or they can be benign—i.e., the institutions can simply become rigid and fail to adapt to new realities.