Democracy and Constitutional Liberalism

In “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy”, Fareed Zakaria makes a clear distinction between democracy and constitutional liberalism, a political system characterized by the rule of law and the protection of basic individual liberties, and claims that in the modern world, constitutional liberalism has led to democracy but democracy has not necessarily given rise to constitutional liberalism and the protection of liberal values.
I think Zakaria makes a valid point that it should not be assumed that constitutional liberalism exists in every democratic country, and that constitutional liberalism cannot exist in any non-democratic state. However, I think that democracy sets the conditions needed for constitutional liberalism, and that the factors involved in the creation of democracy are also factors that lead to constitutional liberalism; one of the main factors for democracy is education.
In “Economic Development and Democracy”, Lipset suggests that countries with higher levels of education tend to have democratic governments, and that if it cannot be said that education is a sufficient condition for democracy, it can be said to be almost a necessary one. This begs the question, why is this the case? Why are lower classes in countries with higher education more receptive to democratic values? I think that not only does education encourage independent thinking, but also those who are educated are more aware of their individual rights. With education as a factor for democracy, I think that education in a democracy motivates citizens to push for political decisions that protect their personal liberties, and to use their freedom to vote to do so. Perhaps Zakaria is right in claiming that democracy does not necessarily lead to constitutional liberty, but I think that high education as a factor of democracy, combined with the freedom of speech and assembly involved in democracy, secures constitutional liberty in the modern world.