The difference between then and now:
People are becoming... more wise for lack of a better term.
Transparency is becoming the thing. Basically, if you run campaigns like they used to, you will be slaughtered in the polls. Open, honest, with flaws shown, that will be what gets votes in the future.
Only if something is measured can it be improved. This is an axiom in business. It is will be forced into govern-cement. And thus, a beneficial loop is formed. Instead of the destructive loop we have now.
I expect a generation before we actually see any real signs of change. But it is coming.
I'm a meliorist so 👍