Sure. There are people who assert that all we have to do is vote. I find that laughable. We have a controlled democracy and an illusion of choice that falls into a narrow range, all controlled by the same sources of money. It's easy to cope because I, like many people on this forum, am materially comfortable. I didn't get sucked under like the bottom tiers of the middle class.

But I am not optimistic. I think many of those ex-middle-class people will get desperate enough to start killing the people they blame for their misfortune. At that point we start to look like we've fallen out of the First World and everyone with money needs a bulletproof SUV and guards.

So what to do? Embrace the surveillance/security state because it might keep us safe? You see some of that attitude here among the apologists. I don't like that but I have no answers.