This course examines the political and economic principles that result ultimately in an open, liberal democracy and their applicability to non-democratic cultures. The course systematically examines the principles underlying liberal democracy as developed in the West beginning with the concepts of human nature and human freedom. Special attention is given to the questions of private property, human rights, the need for limited government, and the degree to which these criteria may be necessary conditions for the preservation of both political and economic freedoms. The course also analyzes some of the key issues involved in the exporting of democracy, especially the central question of the applicability of liberal democratic models to cultures with little or no democratic tradition.