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Five leading scholars explore democracy’s evolving meanings across cultures and history, and suggest how its practice might be improved today. Featured experts include John Dunn (University of Cambridge), Karl Gerth (UC San Diego), Martin Jay (UC Berkeley), Josiah Ober (Stanford University), and Quentin Skinner (Queen Mary University of London). John Dunn, political theorist at Cambridge, challenges prevailing American assumptions about democracy, pointing out that many Founding Fathers were highly skeptical of democratic governance and that popular conceptions often misrepresent its historical and philosophical roots. Quentin Skinner (QMUL) critiques classical libertarianism, arguing that true freedom is not merely the absence of interference but also the protection from arbitrary power—offering a more nuanced view of liberty in democratic societies. Josiah Ober (Stanford), drawing from Aristotle, defends democracy as an “epistemic” project—one that fosters human flourishing by enabling collective intelligence and civic participation. Karl Gerth (UC San Diego) adds a cross-cultural perspective by exploring how democracy is perceived and experienced in contemporary China, revealing that Western models aren’t universally applicable or embraced. Martin Jay (UC Berkeley) offers historical insight into how democratic ideals have evolved, with particular attention to how intellectual movements have shaped, challenged, and redefined democratic principles over time.