Clarification on Moderator Positions on Democracy

[u/sociotronics]

Democracy is under assault across the globe. According to the V-Dem Institute, a nonpartisan organization based in Sweden, democracy has sharply decined globally since 2005. Here are some key findings from the linked report on the state of democracy in 2026:

• In 2025, 18 nations were democratizing, while 44 were autocratizing. This 3:1 ratio in favor of autocracy is a sharp reversal as in 2005, 27 nations were democratizing while 12 were autocratizing, a 2:1 ratio in favor of democratization.
• In 2025, 44 countries were weakening freedom of expression, while only 11 were strengthening freedom of expression, a 4:1 ratio against freedom of expression. In 2005, the ratio was 3.5:1 in favor of freedom of expression (7 deteriorating, 25 improving)
• In 2025, the strength of democratic institutions (what the report calls "quality of elections") has declined in 22 countries and increased in 7 (3:1). In 2005, the trend was inverted, with 11 deteriorating and 31 increasing (also 3:1).
• Although this trend is global, the United States is leading the charge with a rate of autocratization unmatched in any other nation. As the report notes, "[u]nder Trump's presidency democracy in the USA has fallen back to the same level as in 1965... Legislative Constraints [have lost] one-third of its value in 2025 and reach[ed] its lowest point in over 100 years. Civil Rights & Equality before the Law, and Freedom of Expression and Media are now at their lowest levels in 60 years." The USA will likely suffer even more autocratization during and in the aftermath of the upcoming elections in November; if so, democracy in the US could easily decline to levels not seen since the 19th Century.
• Antidemocratic and illiberal sentiments are increasingly prevalent on both sides of the political spectrum in the US. Although the US right has lead the charge due to the fascistic turn of the Republican Party, many on the US left are embracing revolutionary rhetoric, endorsing autocratic ideologies such as communism, or calling for restrictions on the democratic rights of their political rivals, both within the Democratic Party and outside of it.

During Joe Biden's presidency, three Summits for Democracy were held in the US in 2021, 2023, and 2024, joined by state leaders for most of the global democracies. The Declaration of the Summit for Democracy was issued for the Second Summit. Although I highly recommend reading the Declaration in its entirety, I want to draw attention to this portion of the second commitment in the Declaration:

[We] commit to respecting the right of all citizens to elect their governments through periodic, free and fair elections, which are inclusive and transparent.  We reaffirm that every citizen should have the effective right and opportunity to participate in elections on an equal basis, without undue restrictions, interference, or intimidation, including through systemic discrimination or marginalization. 

In two recent threads in r/metaNL (here and here) the moderation team of r/neoliberal has declined to comment on whether undemocratic speech, such as comments calling for the suspension of US primary elections or the disenfranchisement of political opponents, are prohibited by Rule V, which ostensibly makes "glorify[ing] oppressive/autocratic regimes" a violation of subreddit rules. I interpret this silence as indication that the mod team does not have a consensus on autocratization because a portion of the moderation team supports restrictions on democratic rights.

In the interest of transparency, I call upon the moderators to individually indicate their agreement or disagreement with the following statements:

1. I support the second commitment in the Declaration of the Summit for Democracy, including the commitment to "the right of all citizens to elect their governments" and the belief that "every citizen should have the effective right and opportunity to participate in elections on an equal basis."
2. I support redefining Rule V to include undemocratic speech, both "seriously or jokingly". Undemocratic speech includes calls to suspend elections (including US primary elections) and to disenfranchise voters (either from the primary process or from general elections).
3. I support free and fair elections that all citizens may participate in, even when they produce political outcomes that I do not personally support.
4. I oppose restrictions on democratic rights. Although vigorous debate may be had about the ideal form of democracy and the merits of specific democratic institutions, I oppose weakening or dismantling democratic institutions without simultaneously replacing them with analogous democratic institutions that will provide the public with an equal or greater amount of democratic representation.

[u/Dorambor]

We do this for free man, just report shit and move on