Are Freedom and Tolerance in Retreat Worldwide?

Perhaps its the other way round. Greater national power leads to greater rights.

Well that's probably outside of the scope of this discussion and I wouldn't be able to state that one way or another.

I disagree with the OP. As another person said, we have come a long way in the past few decades. As they say, two steps forward, one step back. Also what you hear in the news is always the bad stuff, nobody watches the news to hear about puppies and rainbows.

edited 25th Jul '11 9:27:24 AM by wuggles

I should have clarified. I was thinking more in terms of the last ten years, rather than the last 50. Obviously we have come a long way since the 1960's, or even the 1980's. Its the trend through the 2000's I'm worried about. The Western world in particular seems to have gone through a bad period.