Here's the thing. The stuff that holds societies together is not things that can easily be named or quantified. It is the softer stuff of being human that we often ignore as we try to make our politics or social lives "scientific", and these are the things that are getting broken

A society doesn't function on institutions or process. It functions on trust and faith in those institutions and processes, and yes in some cases, fear and intimidation. It's not about having a big judiciary - it's about believing that when you need them they will help.

If the reason why people believe institutions will behave in a certain way is fear, then we can label those autocracies. If the reason is trust then we can call those democracies. But it's not about the existence of the institutions; it's about how citizens think they will behave

On any given day the average citizen's *direct* interaction with the state is minimal. Sure there are passive interactions e.g. through tax. But even in the most elaborate surveillance state no power can touch 100% of the lives of 100% of the people 100% of the time.

So the daily grist of making a society function is belief based on experience. And the character of the state is in why people behave the way they do when the state isn't looking. And the thing that matters most is what they believe will happen when the direct interaction occurs.

And that's a big reason why events like this matter. Even if everything goes back to "normal" (whatever that means), something fundamental has changed in what people believe will happen when they and others come into direct contact with the state. Something has been broken.