After Democracy

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Can the shortcomings of representative democracy - failing political parties, increasing distrust of government - be addressed within the current system, or is it time to explore a new political model? In this program, five top thinkers in political sociology discuss issues in modern democracy. Fareed Zakaria asserts that the West has been unable to impose short-term pain for long-term gain; John Keane points to political innovation in South Africa and India while agreeing that other democracies have many unsolved problems; Hilary Wainwright argues that the powers that control money have taken over government; William J. Dobson says that democracies "show their dirty laundry," but that that is their strength; and Cheng Li offers his perspective on what China's post-communist growth could mean to the West.