And then you take the Test of the Starstone. As a joke, of course.

I think the level scaling fits Golarion, since “becoming a god” is a semi realistic goal for someone to set for themselves :P

But people who want to play in grittier settings do use the proficiency without level rules, and from what I’ve seen all the major third party tools support that option. As a gm, It can be hard to balance for though! The +level to everything mostly serves to give your level 10 cleric a fighting chance on their stealth checks, and without that boost there are some actions some characters just can’t perform.

sea water wouldn’t be containing elemental magnesium, it would contain magnesium salts.

I’m not even sure capitalism is the right word, at least not in the US. I’d almost describe their ideology as neo-feudalism.

The republicans have always paid lipservice to the idea of meritocracy, of an even playing field, and fair competition. But that isn’t what we’re seeing from them - they’re merging economic and state power in a way that serves to lock in the existing class structure and remove what little social mobility remains. They may pay lipservice to the idea of a free market liberal democracy, but that isn’t the government they’re creating.