Historically, democracy is still an experiment. It was during the Great Depression that many people toyed with Communism and Fascism because they thought that democracy and capitalism had totally failed the masses. Without the social programs that were introduced by Roosevelt, the country could have easily taken these other paths.
We shouldn't be overconfident that the future will be any different. We've seen an unprecedented period prosperity and peace since WW II. (Of course, not all benefited by it.) It probably will not last if history is a good teacher. When times become difficult, people often grasp at any form of government that seems to offer a solution. That is how Hitler and Mussolini came to power. World powers have a tendency to come and go along with their governments. Our democracy is but a blink in the historical eye.
Many younger people think that these conditions we have here in the U.S. are normal. They have never experienced the hardships of a great depression to appreciate how tenuous all human governments are. It really remains to be seen just how enduring these good times are. In the meantime, we should not ignore the plight and suffering of the majority of people in the world.