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Fareed Zakaria

The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad Paperback – October 17, 2007

by Fareed Zakaria (Author)

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“A work of tremendous originality and insight. ... Makes you see the world differently.”―Washington Post

Translated into twenty languages ?The Future of Freedom ?is a modern classic that uses historical analysis to shed light on the present, examining how democracy has changed our politics, economies, and social relations. Prescient in laying out the distinction between democracy and liberty, the book contains a new afterword on the United States's occupation of Iraq and a wide-ranging update of the book's themes.

Print length

301 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

October 17, 2007
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393331520
ISBN-13

978-0393331523
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Splendid.... Mr. Zakaria flies his colors bright and bold."
― Wall Street Journal

"Intensely provocative and valuable."
― BusinessWeek

"In his brave and ambitious book, Fareed Zakaria has updated Tocqueville.... The range of Zakaria's knowledge is impressive.... It deserves a wide readership."
― New York Times Book Review

"With a command of history and contemporary politics on a global scale, Zakaria persuasively shows that democracy by itself is not the answer to peace and prosperity.... Essential reading for anyone worried about the promotion and preservation of liberty."
― Chicago Tribune

"Zakaria's provocative and wide-ranging book is eminently worth reading.... His book displays a kind of argumentation, grounded in history and political philosophy, of which there is precious little these days, particularly among opinion columnists."
― Foreign Affairs

"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. The Future of Freedom is an impressive contribution to our understanding of the crises of democracy that lie darkly ahead."
― Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

About the Author

Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s flagship international affairs show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, as well as weekly columnist for the Washington Post, and the best-selling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom.

Product details

Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; Revised edition (October 17, 2007)
Language : English
Paperback : 301 pages
ISBN-10 : 0393331520
ISBN-13 : 978-0393331523
Item Weight : 8.3 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #302,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #201 in Comparative Politics
- #327 in Political Freedom (Books)
- #500 in Democracy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
303 ratings

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4 star		18%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Anthony Bernardo

Prediction of the future

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2020

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Fareed has authored a masterpiece of insight into how we have arrived to the current political conditions in the United States in 2020, and how the election of 2016 could be foreseen in the early 2000s when this book was written. An excellent read with many ideas and examples of the deterioration of the Framers' intent for a republic into the direct democracy they distrusted.

2 people found this helpful

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Hari K Rajagopalan

Excellent Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020

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This was written in 2007 and a lot of those concerns have become reality in 2020. The decay and lack of legitimacy in institutions. Fareed has as usual written an excellent easy to read piece of political science.

One person found this helpful

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M. Strong

A must-read for Americans. Zakaria reminds us of a critical insight we've collectively forgotten.

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2008

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Here is a critical (but not flawless) book. In it, Fareed Zakaria reminds Americans of an idea that was obvious and fundamental to the founders of our nation, but is now anathema to most: That Democracy and freedom are not one and the same, and that too much Democracy can quickly become the enemy of freedom.

That probably sounds strange to most Americans, which is why Zakaria wrote this book. We've been raised to believe that Democracy is unquestionably good and that more of it is always better. In reality, that's a pretty new attitude. At the time of this country's founding, Democracy was viewed very skeptically. The Founders knew that left unchecked, the majority could be an even worse tyrant than an individual because it would have the illusion of morality on its side. For that reason, our nation's government was set up as Republic, not a Democracy (think of the Pledge of Allegiance). A Republic allows the people to choose from pre-screened applicants for leadership roles and then delegates leadership to them.

Zakaria argues that the gradual breakdown of the protections against the Tyranny of the Majority as we've moved further and further towards democratization has had a vast negative effect. Politicians most focus increasingly on the short-term approval of voters in order to get re-elected and are kept from using their judgment and long-term outlook.

The book is filled with eye-opening insights and makes you aware of problems you may never have considered before. It is one of those books that has the power to change your outlook on major issues. That said, it isn't perfect. Zakaria needs to fully form his ideas just a little more. He obviously is a fan of the free market in most cases, but then says that too much of the free market can act in the same way as too much democratization (he uses the downfall as the Book of the Month Club as an a example of cultural diminution brought about by too much free market.) It's an interesting point, but the reader is left wondering where Zakaria thinks the free market is good, and where he thinks it should be cut back. He needs a clear rule to say, "Use more until "X", then stop." There are a couple cases where Zakaria seems to want to have his cake and eat it too, and that rarely works out.

None of that stops this book from being a very important read for modern Americans. I believe Zakaria is striking at the central issue that will determine whether America can retain (or maybe even reclaim) its current and former glory, or whether it will slip off into history. Zakaria doesn't sound an optimistic note, but at least he's done his part to sound the alarm. I applaud his efforts. Read this book and give it to your friends as well.

16 people found this helpful

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Narrowing in on the broad term of "democracy" and what makes it great

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2012

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Zakaria's Illiberal Democracy keys in on the explosion of democratic governments from 1900 to today where 62% of the world's governments are standing democracies. However, Zakarai doesn't merely spend the text glorifying the form of government but takes a hard and deep look are some of the flaws of democracy (or as he calls it, "illiberal democracy) in both third world countries and also America.
For a majority of the book, Zakaria explores countries around the world and their struggles with establishing a successful democracy. Some of the areas include Russia, China, the Middle East, India, Zambia and many others. With many examples, Zakaria presents not only the problems existing in these countries political system but also the difficulties of exploring different solutions. During one point in the book, Zakaria accurately predicts the results of the Egyptian and Syrian uprisings, saying that the majority of Middle Eastern countries would simply put Sharia law in place which would infringe on individual and groups rights. Ultimately, Zakaria finds that the specific form of government that should be sought for is a "Constitutional Liberal Democracy" which ensures individual rights to all (to prevent majority oppression), established institutions in both private and public sector to ensure balance of powers (Congress, Executive Branch, Judiciary, FED, AICPA, etc), and also a non-corrupt republic election system to ensure representation.
The second half of the books addresses the problems with our current system within America. Zakaria gives numerous examples how the 1970's marked a significant shift in our nations democratic system. Some of the main problems he addresses is special interest groups, lobbyists, and most importantly, the expansion of marketization and democratization throughout our entire societal and political system. Some of the examples used explore how various areas such as law, accounting, referendums in states, etc.
By the end of the book, Zakaria presents his solutions towards reforming our political system to make it functional again and less prone to enormous public pressure from special interest groups. A brief description of his solutions are allowing more closed meetings for congress, more independent institutions (Zakaria presents the idea of a FED like tax institution that would present tax policy to congress for an up or down vote, presenting favorable loopholes for corporate welfare and the rich), and entitlement reform.
Ultimately, whether you agree with Zakaria's solutions or not, you will be well educated in a variety of world political history of the 20th century and have a greater understanding of what makes a democracy great and how we can expand that greatness within our own country as well as abroad to other nations. For those who see in current events like the Bush Administration trying to "bring democracy to the Middle East" and want to understand more about the complexities of such a task for any society, I advise you read this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. McManus

Excellent overview, but very disappointing ending

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2008

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The book looks at the 21st century and examines the challenges and threats to liberal democracy. The author first explains the history of how the West became liberal and democratic for two reasons - it developed stable institutions, and was able to provide a high standard of living for its citizens. The author contends that once a country's national income reaches a certain level, the chances it will slip back into authoritarianism become negligent, and he show cases South Korea and Taiwan as examples.

The author argues that countries which have one major resource are often less likely to become democratic than countries with few or none. This is because in resource poor countries like South Korea, the population have to develop diverse sources of income, leading to a vibrant economy and the emergence of a middle class, the traditional guardians of democracy. By contrast, oil states do not need a diverse economy because they get all the income they need from oil sales, therefore the economy never develops into a complex modern one, and nor does the democratic open society it generally helps to create.

Then comes a rather interesting point. The author argues that there is actually too much democracy, "too much of a good thing", and that far from being a good thing, it actually undermines freedom. He show cases how minority special interest groups in America can advance take advantage of democratic freedoms to force their will on a majority, or how referendums are frequently used to whip up populism. In Islamic countries, the author notes how far from advancing liberalism, democracy actually allows "illiberal democrats" to come to power like Hamas, often with an agenda that is worrying to women, gays and religious minorities.

The book is an excellent examination of the subject matter, but the author's conclusion is rather insulting. Namely, that it is a good thing that citizens are excluded from many aspects of decision making. He seems especially keen on the way the EU does this, even praises them for doing so. This is a rather disappointing end to the book. Nevertheless, it is well worth a read.

3 people found this helpful

Ian Mack

The future of Democracy is at risk because of too much democratisation and decentralisation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2014

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This book is essentially about the notion that, too much democratisation and decentralisation, two beliefs that are often hailed as universally good, can be disastrous. Fareed Zakaria brilliantly analyses both foreign and domestic policy under the umbrella of what he calls "Illiberal Democracy." His analysis is both simple and convincing, and covers topics such as Islamic Fundamentalism, the decline of USA Congressional prestige on the national political stage, the advantages of an `undemocratic' Council of the European Union in Brussels and the virtual disintegration of good governance in the state of California.

Zakaria dismantles the view that democracy, in and of itself, is a cure-all for mankind's social ills. In fact, he highly praises countries like Chile and Singapore, which liberalised their economies first and their political systems later. Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, who worked closely with Chile in liberalising their economy in the seventies and eighties, claimed the experience changed his mind about the priority of political freedom in relation to economic liberty. He says that he came to realise that economic freedom was the foundation of all other liberties.

Zakaria's argument that "The deregulation of democracy has gone too far" is also supported by the fact that, in poll after poll, when Americans are asked what public institutions they most respect, three bodies are always at the top of their list: the Supreme Court, the armed forces, and the Federal Reserve. All three have one thing in common: they are insulated from public pressures and operate undemocratically. He argues convincingly that the future of democracy would be considerably strengthened if we embraced similar forms of delegation for the health service, the environment and taxation where a long-term perspective insulated from `short-term interest pressure groups is essential. As far back as 1789, James Maddison and other USA Federalists recognised that popular government would be plagued by one problem above all else - that of special interests. Madison said `By the delegation of Government to a group of citizens, elected by the rest, it would be possible to refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through a medium of a chosen body of citizens who's wisdom may discern the interests of their country and who's patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations" For Maddison delegation was a mechanism by which to temper narrow interests and short term perspectives, precisely the problem faced today!

The "The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" is both an enthralling examination of the development of democracy and extraordinarily timely in today's troubled world.

David

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2016

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Bought as recommended reading for a degree I was doing, useful for that but boring as hell.

Ad Arma

deepdrill

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011

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Nice deep drill and very relativating, a joy to read and a thrill to let it all fall at it's place in the scanning of our daily 'reallity'.

Gary

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2017

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