All institutional checks on overreach and abuse of executive power – every single one of them, from legislatures to the judiciary, human rights machinery, professional associations, trade unions, the Church and the media – turned out to be not fit for purpose and folded just when they were most needed. Waystations on the journey to where we are today with a biosecurity-cum-biofascist state include the national security, administrative and surveillance states.
And so Ramesh Thakur finishes his 5-part series. An optimistic end note, but we all know institutions loathe relinquishing any form of power that makes it easy to impede upon liberties.