It's been argued by many social scientists and historians that the
rise of capitalism lays the groundwork for the rise of democracy. We
first saw this in Europe, where economic expansion and modernization
preceded the rise of democracies.
And, we also saw this is in the case of Spain, Chile, Taiwan, and
South Korea.
Under Franco, the Spanish economy had grown considerably and with it a
middle class clamoring for democracy. Same could be said of Chile
under Pinochet. And, South Korea and Taiwan went from military rule to
democracies around the same time; they also followed similar growth
patterns economically and politically.

So, it's been a truism that a healthy robust economy will lead to rise
of democracies. But, China and Russia have undermined this idea. And,
this could also be said of Nazi Germany in the 30s. Why did so many
Germans embrace dictatorship just when their economy was booming? If
economic well being leads to demand for democracy, Nazi Germany
certainly didn't conform to that rule.

Perhaps, we need to take into consideration the chronology of events.
People of both Nazi Germany and Putin's Russia had been through the
trial of democracy, but it didn't bring them much good news. If...