Sinking Democracy, One Shot at a Time

A pool table, a pint, and a debate on democracy’s demise. We played the game, but the real contest? Autocrats stacking the deck.

The morning air was crisp, the golden hue of sunlight spilling over the cobblestone streets of London as we emerged from our editorial meeting. It had been a productive session, one fuelled by ambition and caffeine, where the conversation had revolved around the expansion of our media project its reach, its appeal, its purpose. The topic had been heavy, dense with the weight of possibilities, but as we stepped outside, the lightness of the day invited a change in pace.

Michael and I set off on foot, our minds still brimming with the morning's discussions, but as our bodies moved through the city, our thoughts too began to shift. Politics had a way of creeping into every conversation between us. It was inevitable. As we made our way toward a nearby pub, we meandered into the well-trodden debate of democracy versus autocracy a discussion that, as always, was less about abstract concepts and more about the tangible reality of power and its abuses.

Inside the pub, the clack of billiard ball…