What happens if there is too much democracy?

Fareed Zakaria recently published a fascinating book about democracy called The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. Much of his discussion in the latter part of the book - the "Illiberal Democracy at Home" part- raises important questions regarding the possible futures of higher education in the US.

Zakaria begins with the powerful insight that the West, when it uses the term Ademocracy@ tends to mean a special type of democracy that is built on Aconstitutional liberalism@:

AFor people in the West, democracy means > liberal democracy=: a system marked not only by free and fair elections but also by the rule of law, a separation of powers, and the protection of basic liberties of speech, assembly, religion, and property.@

Importantly, he argues that democracy and constitutional liberalism have no intrinsic relationship to each other, and that consequently one can have an illiberal democracy in which elections are held without liberal constitutional underpinnings, or a liberal autocracy in which basic liberal freedoms are supported but the ballot is not. He eloquently presents the shortcomings and dangers of illiberal democracies, and discusses the role of liberal autocracies in the creation of liberal democracies. He argues that our policies and view of the world are often confused by our lack of understanding of the different roles played by democracy and constitutional liberalism. Using his perspective, he analyzes several developing democracies around the world and makes predictions regarding their future evolution.

Zakaria spends most of the last half of this book focusing on the United States, and this is the section that raises issues of greatest importance to higher education. In this part of the book, he argues that we have become perhaps too democratic, with a resulting weakening of our constitutional liberalism. In his view, the representative nature of our government has been one of the main forces protecting our constitutional liberalism. Technology and recent generations of transparency-seeking changes in Congress, however, have opened up every deliberation to close scrutiny. Elected officials, with decreased ability to hide behind party or organizational structure, have been forced to respond more directly to external constituencies. Since most of us do not have time to monitor our elected officials on a daily basis, power then shifts in a dramatic way to the organized constituencies- the lobbies.

This expanding democratization has changed all segments of our society. From finance to government to religion, there has been a sort of democratic Aleveling@ that has broken down old barriers, changed access and redistributed authority. Many of these changes have brought considerable good, but they have also caused a weakening of some of the elements of society that provided stability and guideposts.

Zakaria focuses attention on the negative effects of this leveling on the role of many of the former institutional and individual Aelites@ of society. Public service was an important component of the activities of these elites from the time of de Toqueville. However, the pressures of democratization have significantly diminished the role of public service in numerous professions and institutions. Those who control powerful institutions no longer view themselves as elites with a broader public obligation. The public has recognized this change in viewpoint, with the result that many institutions and professions that were formerly held in great esteem are now viewed as having no special credibility or authority in society.

A reading of Zakaria will push those with an interest in higher education to ask many questions. What will be the impact on universities of this continuing push for democratization in its many forms? What does it mean for access, student support, etc.? What are its implications for the credibility and societal status of institutions of higher learning? How will the increasing power of lobbies impact higher education? How will it affect the balance of non-profit and for-profit higher education?