Are we walking towards a dystopia?

[Cain]

It meant the culture of government was less dismissive and more interested in listening to voters, which led to policies which were more in tune with what voters wanted.  Rollback of lawlessness at the highest levels of government had knock-on effects at state and local levels.

Families do get destroyed by rampaging cops who think they've been given a licence to kill.  Or a "no-knock warrant" and accusations of drug use, at the very least.  It took Reagan style moralizing and paranoia to kick the drug war into overdrive.

[Doktor Howl]

Wages were still rising in real terms in the earlier part of that period.

Also, after Watergate and Ford, there was a kickback against instrusive government which involved, among other things, investigations into the CIA and the election of several firebrands determined to bring more accountability and transparency to government.

It wasn't ideal, but there seemed to be progress happening, as opposed to "progress being co-opted by elite economic elements to continue gorging themselves on public money and strengthen the National Security State", which is pretty much 2008 summed up.

Cain said it way better than I could have.