The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad
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.
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Community Reviews
The premise of the book is that democracy and freedom are not the same thing. Zakaria believs that too much direct democracy is bad. He believes that the indirect republican form of democracy is the best form of governance that leads to more freedom than direct democracy does.
I agree with the author that freedom and democracy are not the same thing. Minority rights can be trampled by direct democracy where people make the laws. Just witness the results Proposition 8 in California. A few polls have even shown that many United States citizens think that The Bill of Rights is too radical. Conversely, a republican democracy is better able to protect minority rights and give freedom to more people. The Civil Rights Act in the 60s probably never would have passed under a direct democracy.
I part with the author most importantly is his sometimes praise of dictatorships where the author contends that there is more freedom than in what he calls so-called democracy. He points out that under the Indonesian dictator Suharto, Indonesia was economically richer and more secular than the democracy that replaced it. Is this true? Ask the hundreds of thousands killed by Suharto's armed forces from 1965-1966. Then ask what the people of East Timor thought. The Indonesians invasion of East Timor killed around 200,000 people in East Timor out of a population of about 700,000. I think Zakaria should not be praising a mass murderer.
I found the book interesting and thought provoking. It made me think about democracy and freedom and had many interesting and important observations about the state of freedom in the world. But be forewarned, the author does not necessarily understand and/or take into account all issues of freedom and human rights. For his approval of a mass-murderer I give this book only one star.
I agree with the author that freedom and democracy are not the same thing. Minority rights can be trampled by direct democracy where people make the laws. Just witness the results Proposition 8 in California. A few polls have even shown that many United States citizens think that The Bill of Rights is too radical. Conversely, a republican democracy is better able to protect minority rights and give freedom to more people. The Civil Rights Act in the 60s probably never would have passed under a direct democracy.
I part with the author most importantly is his sometimes praise of dictatorships where the author contends that there is more freedom than in what he calls so-called democracy. He points out that under the Indonesian dictator Suharto, Indonesia was economically richer and more secular than the democracy that replaced it. Is this true? Ask the hundreds of thousands killed by Suharto's armed forces from 1965-1966. Then ask what the people of East Timor thought. The Indonesians invasion of East Timor killed around 200,000 people in East Timor out of a population of about 700,000. I think Zakaria should not be praising a mass murderer.
I found the book interesting and thought provoking. It made me think about democracy and freedom and had many interesting and important observations about the state of freedom in the world. But be forewarned, the author does not necessarily understand and/or take into account all issues of freedom and human rights. For his approval of a mass-murderer I give this book only one star.
This book is excellent, and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Its thesis is that there's a significant difference between freedom (constitutional liberalism) and democracy and that if wielded poorly, democracy can be the foil of freedom. There is so much more to this book, though. Almost every page gave me something important to ponder. It could function as a starter guide to democracy.
Frequently when I read, I feel like the same thing could have been said in a much shorter more tightly edited text, but this time, I felt quite the opposite. This book is very tight and won't waste any of your time. In fact, I wanted to read more about some of the issues he raised at the end of the book. I'm eager to read another Zakaria book next, The Post-American World.
Frequently when I read, I feel like the same thing could have been said in a much shorter more tightly edited text, but this time, I felt quite the opposite. This book is very tight and won't waste any of your time. In fact, I wanted to read more about some of the issues he raised at the end of the book. I'm eager to read another Zakaria book next, The Post-American World.
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