Democracy has two dimensions: as an idea and as an institution. The former refers to democratism based on egalitarianism, while the key to the latter is election. Democracy as an institution will not necessarily encounter real difficulties in practice in the future. But egalitarianism is antithetical to Chinese elitist tradition and so is unlikely to be accepted by Chinese people. If the Western socio-economic crises persist, democracy, once credited with the “end of history,” will probably face its first challenge in China.