Q: is it not possible deregulation has contributed to democracy's decline alongside what you say has undermined democracy in its stead?

A: I think deregulation has contributed to democracy's decline, but we need to be careful about what we call deregulation, and I think it's not deregulation per se that affects democracy. Democracy is damaged in my view by whatever economic policies tilt the playing field to concentrate power and money, as concentrated power and money have a way of corrupting democratic officials.

To me, it's a waste of time talking about whether regulation is high or low, or more or less (whatever those mean). We have to look deeper. Any change in regulation assists someone relative to someone else.