Today we judge the value of every idea, institution and individual by one test: is it popular? Or, more practically, do the majority of those polled like it? This transformation has affected not just politics, but also law, business, culture and even religion. Every institution and profession in society must democratize or die. Democracy has gone from being a form of government to a way of life. Like any broad transformation, however, the trends that democracy unleashes are not uniformly benign. Democracy has its dark sides, yet to question it has been to provoke instant criticism that you are ''out of sync'' with the times. No more. Zakaria uses his command of history, philosophy and current affairs to reinterpret our past and outline our future. Woodrow Wilson said that the challenge of the 20th century was to make the world safe for democracy - this book challenges us to make democracy safe for the world.