The Future of Freedom

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"With elegance and insight, Fareed Zakaria sets forth for our times a fundamental truth previously articulated by Aristotle and Tocqyeville: unregulated democracy undermines liberty and the rule of law. The Future of Freedom is one of the most important books on global political trends to appear in the past decade. Its sobering analysis has vital lessons for all of us concerned with freedom's future in the world."
— SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON
"Fareed Zakaria, one of the most brilliant young writers, has produced a fascinating and thought-provoking book on the impact of Western constitutional principles on the global order." -HENRY KISSINGER
"In this incisive book, Fareed Zakaria asks searching questions and offers provocative answers. Thé Future of Freedom is an impressive contribution to our understanding of the crises of democracy that lie darkly ahead."
-ARTHUR M. SCHLESINGER, JR.
"Fareed Zakaria covers an immense aiftount of ground in this eloquent examination of the varieties... Tovább

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"With elegance and insight, Fareed Zakaria sets forth for our times a fundamental truth previously articulated by Aristotle and Tocqyeville: unregulated democracy undermines liberty and the rule of law. The Future of Freedom is one of the most important books on global political trends to appear in the past decade. Its sobering analysis has vital lessons for all of us concerned with freedom's future in the world."
— SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON
"Fareed Zakaria, one of the most brilliant young writers, has produced a fascinating and thought-provoking book on the impact of Western constitutional principles on the global order." -HENRY KISSINGER
"In this incisive book, Fareed Zakaria asks searching questions and offers provocative answers. Thé Future of Freedom is an impressive contribution to our understanding of the crises of democracy that lie darkly ahead."
-ARTHUR M. SCHLESINGER, JR.
"Fareed Zakaria covers an immense aiftount of ground in this eloquent examination of the varieties of freedom and democracy. Mastering the nuances of every corner of the world, discussing the critical .(and virtually unexamined) problem of 'illiberal democracy,' analyzing what he correctly calls "the Great Exception' of Islam, Zakaria forces us to think in new ways about values that Americans take for granted."
-RICHARD HOLBROOKE
"This is a very thoughtful and intelligent book that is important for all Americans and for those who would make American policy. After all, what is more important than the real meaning of freedom and democracy? The book could not appear at a more appropriate time." -PETER JENNINGS
"Fareed Zakaria's The Future of Freedom is a learned, tough-minded, and intellectually courageous warning that easy bromides about democracy, if taken as a literal guide to policy, could make the world a more dangerous and less pleasant place."
-NICHOLAS LEMANN
V ¦ ¦ , ^ POLITICAL SCIENCE
ISliN (l-.V) i-ll47h4-4
9780393047646
ISBN 0-393-04764-4
USA $24.95 CAN. $37.50
LIBERTY AND DEMOCRACY.
The two go hand in hand in popular thinking, fused by more than two hundred years of U.S. history. More democracy means more freedom. Or does it? At a time when democracy is transcendent, the one political system whose legitimacy is unquestioned, this deeply important book points out the tensions between democracy and freedom. It ranges widely through the past and present to remind us that we can have too much of a good thing.
Take American democracy, in many peoples' minds the model for the rest of the world. Fareed Zakaria points out that the American form of democracy is one of the least democratic in use today. Members of the Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve— institutions that fundamentally shape our lives—are appointed, not elected. The Bill of Rights enumerates a set of privileges to which citizens are entitled no matter what the majority says. By restricting our democracy, we enhance our freedom.
Nonetheless, we fall into the mistake of thinking, both at home and abroad, that the answer to our problems is always more democracy. But look at the post-Watergate reforms, which opened up politics. They brought into the halls of Congress not the voice of the people but the cries of special interests, well-organized minorities, and
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(CONTINUI-D l iU)M l aON I I LAP)
money. American government today is more democratic than ever before—and also more dysfunctional.
Abroad, the problem is that the spread of democracy has not produced a corresponding growth of liberty. We are seeing in many parts of the world, from Russia to Venezuela to the Palestinian Authority, a strange creature—the elected autocrat. In the Arab world in particular we see societies trapped between, repressive dictatorships and fanatical masses. Is there a way out?
There is. Zakaria calls for a restoration of the balance between liberty and democracy and shows how liberal democracy has to be made effective and relevant for our times. Woodrow Wilson said the challenge of the twentieth century was to make the world safe for democracy. As we enter the twenty-first century, this timely book challenges us to make democracv safe for the world.
m^^^^KM FAREED ZAKARIA
!/ ^ ' \ is the editor of Newsweek 1 ^^^ t ^ International, a regular col-Ikj^!^^ M umnist for that magazine's ^ domestic edition, and a I ^ ^ political analyst for ABC
News. He received a B.A. bn" Li from Yale and a Ph.D.
from Harvard. He lives in New York City.
lACKET DESIGN BY CALVIN CHU
lACKET PAINTING: EUGENE DELACROIX. HBERTY LEADING THE PEOPLE. 1830. THE LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE, PHOTO: HERVÉ LEWANDOWSKI /RÉUNION DES MUSEES NATIONAUX / ART RESOURCE. NY
AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY SIGRID ESTRADA
RINTED IN
D STATES OF AMERICA Vissza