The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad.

• Position: Book Review

By Fareed Zakaria. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2003. Pp. 256. $24.95.

Zakaria's central claim in The Future of Freedom is simple: "that there can be such a thing as too much democracy." Excessively populist politics can undermine the "bundle of freedoms" important to any liberal constitutional order--pluralism, open political discourse, property fights, religion, and the rule of law. Though it does not offer an abundance of fresh insights, the book is still an important contribution--as much for its timing as for its message.

Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International, contends that liberty in the United States has been endangered by an excess of democracy. The political process has been so subverted by polls, campaign money, and special interests that politics is now under the thumb of a "hidden elite, unaccountable, unresponsive, and often unconcerned with any larger public interest." This intuition has merit, but the conclusion tends to the hyperbolic. The remainder of the book, however, is much more nuanced, as Zakaria systematically demonstrates how foolish it is to believe that the mere accoutrements of democracy can be...