According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 5.7% of the world's population in 2019, lived in countries that described as 'full democracies'. In 2008 this was still 14.4%. This fact should worry all of us deeply. How is this possible, and what does it say about us as citizens and about our politicians? Have we made the right electoral choices and do our politicians sufficiently protect us against lack of freedom, disorder and arbitrariness? In this article, I examine what forces threaten us and what opens the door to that which we escaped 75 years ago.