Longevity Threatens Democracy, by Lyman Stone
Key points in this post:
Death has historically been the main exit mechanism for unelected rulers, including natural death, but this exit route is vanishing thanks to rising lifespans.
All else equal, longer lives mechanically produce longer tenures in power.
Political power compounds over a career, so longer careers mean more concentrated power.
Older electorates carry a larger cognitive-impairment burden and are further from the experiences a vote is supposed to be able to think about when making electoral decisions.
As a result, political elites face weaker accountability from less attentive electorates, have longer careers over which to accumulate power, and upon reaching the top are likely to have longer tenures since mortality rates are falling.
