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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The subtitle of this book is "Illiberal democracy at home and abroad". The fundamental argument is that there can be too much democracy; populism and appeals to the basic political instincts are inherently illiberal. |
Didn’t Like It “The premise of the book is that democracy and freedom is not the same thing. Zakaria bemoans that too much direct democracy is a bad and the indirect republican form of democracy is the best form of governance that leads to more freedom than direct democracy does. |
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“Read it awhile ago but it helped me understand the importance of organic institutions within a sovereign nation devoted to the preservation of human liberties in order for any healthy democratic society to function, and not just the use of elections as the only requirement for a democracy to work.”
Gavin wrote this review Wednesday, September 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A compelling revisit to relevance of liberty/freedom modern democracies and other non-democratic states.
Welcome to Devendra Kodwani's Bookshelf wrote this review Tuesday, September 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Zakaria makes the subject accessible for everyone.
Highly readable.”“The premise of the book is that democracy and freedom is not the same thing. Zakaria bemoans that too much direct democracy is a bad and the indirect republican form of democracy is the best form of governance that leads to more freedom than direct democracy does.
Terri B wrote this review Saturday, November 22 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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 when Suharto forces killed in from 1965-1966. Then ask what the people of East Timor thought. 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.
”1 of 1 members found this review helpful“The subtitle of this book is "Illiberal democracy at home and abroad". The fundamental argument is that there can be too much democracy; populism and appeals to the basic political instincts are inherently illiberal.
R M wrote this review Tuesday, September 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The author bemoans the advent of polls and the decline of the US party system. He has a Tory view of representative democracy. Edmund Burke said my constituents elected me to think independently and not to be a parrot of the vox populi.
I am not quite sure I accept that things are any worse then they have ever been. The whole point of democracy is that we muddle through somehow. That said this book has some interesting counter intuitive insights on the dynamic relationship between liberalism and democracy.”
“The most interesting, thoughtful political commentary I've read in years.”
Margaret E wrote this review Sunday, June 29 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fareed tells it like it is -- whether you want to hear it or not.”
Richard D wrote this review Wednesday, March 12 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“A thought provoking book about democracies worldwide”
Neelesh Vithlani wrote this review Tuesday, February 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An excellent treatise on the idea of "democracy" -- how it can be liberal or illiberal, why we can't just import it to the Middle East, and so forth. Definitely not brain candy - be prepared to think and use all the big words you learned in college. Anything Zakaria writes is worth reading!”
geekchick wrote this review Saturday, November 24 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Compulsory read for anyone who wants to get to the core around democracy, liberty, freedom and the myriad of complexities these concepts of governance present. You don't know the world's state of affairs if you don't read this book.”
Bobby Varanasi, COP wrote this review Thursday, November 15 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
