Abstract

We've had a long run at something like a democratic society, one that has steadily expanded the definition of who's "in." We've done this with wisdom and luck—and because of the unrelenting pressure of "the people," organized in one way or another. That accounts in part for my long-term optimism. Still, looking at history's arc, democracy seems a fragile and almost unnatural idea. We can hardly argue that we've paid much attention to how it is passed from generation to generation. Mostly, we count on word of mouth and the happenstances of growing up. Now, we are in a century that will challenge the ideas underlying democracy as never before, and the odds on its survival seem about even—so long as we depend on word of mouth and happenstance.

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