Stanford's Fukuyama on the decline of the middle class

Occupy WSBB Logo Occupy Wall Street protesters confront New York police on the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 1, 2011.

In an article for the Jan./Feb. issue of Foreign Affairs, Francis Fukuyama traces the rise of liberal democracy through the 20th century which led to the growth of the middle class. Fukuyama cautions that recent economic and social trends - from globalization to the growth of the high-tech service economy - threaten the future of the democratic model. With the leftist agenda in retreat, Fukuyama calls for a new narrative to guide the future of history.