Watch the video below and take notes (for yourself).  Write a 250 word blog response (submitted as a COMMENT to this post) about  an idea or ideas about democracy and the challenges to democracy discussed in this video that made you think.  We all watched the video--no need to dwell on what was said.  Please tell us what you THINK about what was said.  
 
Watch the video, read the following and in a 250 word MINIMUM blog post written as a COMMENT to this post, tackle one, some or all of the questions posited.  


In this lecture Fareed Zakaria starts by asserting that the world we would like to live in looks an awful lot like the world we actually live in.  He describes 4 trends in our world today that he considers responsible for the current global well-being (if you will).  
  • "Global Peace"
  • Broad global middle class bolstered by the constraining of inflation
  • The "Anglo American consensus"
  • Technology that empowers human beings and not regimes



He argues that we are undergoing a major power shift in the 21st century.  
16th century global power shift: RISE OF EUROPE
19th century global power shift: RISE OF THE UNITED STATES
21st century global power shift: "RISE OF THE REST"


Question to consider:  Do you think the "Rise of the Rest" threaten this world we have?
Zakaria argues that he finds the "Rise of the Rest" less threatening to democracy and Western values than the rise of ILLIBERALISM in the West. He worries more about the core than the periphery. He describes the following as particularly threatening to democracy:
  • "Demo-sclerosis" & rising power of special interests
  • "Tyranny of the present over the future"
  • Rise of Illiberalism in the west as seen with the increasing acceptance of nationalist parties, religious fundamentalism, anti-immigrant ideas, etc.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:  Can you think of examples of these trends in Brazil, the US, Europe?  Do these trends worry you?  How so?  Do you think these trends are dangerous to democracy?  In which ways?  Which one is the most dangerous?