“A work of tremendous originality and insight. ... Makes you see the world differently.”― Washington Post A modern classic that uses historical analysis to shed light on the present, The Future of Freedom is, as the Chicago Tribune put it, "essential reading for anyone worried about the promotion and preservation of liberty." Hailed by the New York Times as "brave and ambitious...updated Tocqueville," it enjoyed extended stays on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal , and Washington Post bestseller lists and has been translated into eighteen languages. Prescient in laying out the distinction between democracy and liberty, the book now contains a new afterword on the United States's occupation of Iraq. "Intensely provocative and valuable," according to BusinessWeek , with an easy command of history, philosophy, and current affairs, The Future of Freedom calls for a restoration of the balance between liberty and democracy and shows how politics and government can be made effective and relevant for our time. Newsweek International's editor exposes the down side of democracy, i.e., the assumption that what's popular is right. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. The spread of democracy threatens freedom? So argues journalist Zakaria in a provocative critique of political trends fast democratizing the entire globe. In numerous newly democratic countries, Zakaria sees elections serving not as a guarantee of liberty but rather as a legitimization of tyranny. Liberty, he argues, depends less on the will of the majority than it does on institutional safeguards for the rights of minorities. Lacking such safeguards, rude democracy has swept countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and the Central African Republic toward illiberal authoritarianism. Even in the U.S., Zakaria warns, the slide away from constitutional republicanism toward reflexive populism portends civic malaise. More broadly, Zakaria worries that a democratized American culture that panders to popular taste even in its museums, courtrooms, and churches may be losing the cultural resources necessary to sustain a regime of liberty. Zakaria does express buoyant hopes for a future in which capitalists liberalize international politics--even in China and Iraq--but he also lays out the sobering task of resolving the dilemmas of untrammeled democracy. Bryce Christensen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A very thoughtful and intelligent book which is important for all Americans and those who would make American policy." ― Peter Jennings, ABC News Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s flagship international affairs show, Fareed Zakaria GPS , as well as weekly columnist for the Washington Post . He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World . He lives in New York City.