Indeed. Our institutions are severely degraded, if not horribly broken. I hope it is not irreparably so, but I am not optimistic. The signs of societal and imperial decline are everywhere these days and we do not seem to be able to meet the challenges, many existential, that lay before us.
If you're old enough, imagine how we (USA-centric) would mock flawed research coming out of the Soviet Union.
Well, here we are. And unfortunately there are plenty of signs of decline once it dawns on you that's what's happening.