The End of History and the Last Man is a 1992 book by Francis Fukuyama, expanding on his 1989 essay "The End of History?", published in the international affairs journal The National Interest. In the book, Fukuyama argues the controversial thesis that the end of the Cold War signals the end of the progression of human history: Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama (b. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The National Interest is a prominent quarterly international affairs journal, founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and currently published by the Nixon Center. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

"What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government." (quoted from "The End of History?", 1989)

This thesis conflicts strongly with Karl Marx's version of the "end of history". According to his philosophy of history (historical materialism), this is a time when class distinctions no longer exist. Marx believed them to be the cause of the evolution of "all hitherto existing society." He believed this state of classlessness to be inevitable (though he did not venture to guess how long it would take for it to come about), and named it communism. Fukuyama's thesis, coming at the end of the Cold War, is an obvious reference to Marx's phrase. However, Fukuyama draws from the work of the source Marx got the phrase from, Hegel. In particular, Fukuyama is influenced by the interpretation of Hegel by the French thinker Alexandre Kojève, both arguing that the historical progression has led towards secular free-market democracy. Fukuyama seems to have been pointed in Kojève's direction by the prominent Straussian political philosopher Allan Bloom, who taught Fukuyama. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883), although Marx himself never used the term (he referred it as philosophical materialism, a term he used to distinguish it from what he called popular materialism). Historical... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 - November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Alexandre Kojève (Александр Владимирович Кожевников, Aleksandr Vladimirovič Koževnikov) (April 28, 1902 – June 4, 1968) was a Marxist and Hegelian political philosopher, who had a substantial influence on Twentieth-Century French Philosophy. ... Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a Jewish German-American political philosopher who has been greatly influential in America. ... Allan Blooms translation and interpretation, Second edition 1991. ...

Fukuyama's thesis

Fukuyama's thesis consists of three main elements.^[1]

• First, there is an empirical argument. Fukuyama points out that since the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, democracy, which started off as being merely one amongst many systems of government, has grown until nowadays the majority of governments in the world are termed "democratic". He also points out that democracy's main intellectual alternatives (which he takes to be various forms of dictatorship) have become discredited.

• Second, there is a philosophical argument, taken from G.W.F. Hegel. Very briefly, Fukuyama sees history as consisting of the dialectic between two classes: the Master and the Slave. Ultimately, this thesis (Master) and antithesis (Slave) must meet in a synthesis, in which both manage to live in peace together. This can only happen in a democracy.

• Finally Fukuyama also argues that for a variety of reasons radical socialism (or communism) is likely to be incompatible with modern representative democracy. Therefore, in the future, democracies are overwhelmingly likely to contain markets of some sort, and most are likely to be capitalist or social democratic.

Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (IPA: ) (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher and, with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, one of the representatives of German idealism. ... In classical philosophy, dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a synthesis of the opposing assertions, or at least a qualitative transformation in the direction of the dialogue. ... The Master-Slave dialectic is a is key element in Hegels philosophy. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the peoples representatives. ...

Misinterpretations

According to Fukuyama, since the French Revolution, democracy has repeatedly proven to be a fundamentally better system (ethically, politically, economically) than any of the alternatives. The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on...

The most basic (and prevalent) error in discussing Fukuyama's work is to confuse 'history' with 'events'. Fukuyama does not claim at any point that events will stop happening in the future. What he is claiming is that all that will happen in the future (even if totalitarianism returns) is that democracy will become more and more prevalent in the long term, although it may have 'temporary' setbacks (which may, of course, last for centuries). Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Totalitarianism is a term employed by some political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ...

• Some argue that Fukuyama presents 'American-style' democracy as the only 'correct' political system and that all countries must inevitably follow this particular government system; however, many Fukuyama scholars claim this is a misreading of his work.^{[citation needed]} Fukuyama's argument is only that in the future there will be more and more governments that use the framework of parliamentary democracy and that contain markets of some sort. Sweden, Venezuela, Turkey, India and Ghana fit this description as well as (or better than) the United States. Indeed, Fukuyama has stated:

"The End of History was never linked to a specifically American model of social or political organisation. Following Alexandre Kojève, the Russian-French philosopher who inspired my original argument, I believe that the European Union more accurately reflects what the world will look like at the end of history than the contemporary United States. The EU's attempt to transcend sovereignty and traditional power politics by establishing a transnational rule of law is much more in line with a "post-historical" world than the Americans' continuing belief in God, national sovereignty, and their military."The Guardian, 3 Apr 2007

• It has also been argued that Fukuyama's notion of the "end of history" is merely a Hegelian articulation of the Whig interpretation of history. However, as the latter sections of his book make clear, Fukuyama is no liberal optimist: instead he is a pessimist influenced by Nietzsche (especially Nietzsche as interpreted by Leo Strauss) who sees the end of history as being ultimately a sad and emotionally unsatisfying era, as reflected in Nietzsche's concept of the Last Man.

Whig history is a pejorative name given to a view of history that is shared by a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century British writers on historical subjects. ... Pessimism, generally, describes a belief that things are bad, and tend to become worse; or that looks to the eventual triumph of evil over good; it contrasts with optimism, the contrary belief in the goodness and betterment of things generally. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a German-born political philosopher who specialized in the study of classical political philosophy. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Arguments in favor of Fukuyama's thesis

This graph shows the number of nations in the different categories given by Freedom House in their survey Freedom in the World for the period for which there are surveys, 1972-2005. Nations are categorised as "Free", "Partly Free", and "Not Free". Freedom House considers "Free" nations to be liberal democracies.

• Empirical evidence has been used to support the theory. Freedom House argues that there was not a single liberal democracy with universal suffrage in the world in 1900, but that today 120 (62%) of the world's 192 nations are such democracies. They count 25 (19%) nations with 'restricted democratic practices' in 1900 and 16 (8%) today. They counted 19 (14%) constitutional monarchies in 1900, where a constitution limited the powers of the monarch, and with some power devolved to elected legislatures, and none today. Other nations had, and have, various forms of non-democratic rule.[3]
• The democratic peace theory argues that there is statistical evidence that democracy decreases systematic violence such as external and internal wars and conflicts. This seems compatible with Fukuyama's theory, but hardly with the increasing class conflicts that Marx predicted.
• The end of the Cold War and the subsequent increase in the number of liberal democratic states were accompanied by a sudden and dramatic decline in total warfare, interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, and the number of refugees and displaced persons [4].

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (827x428, 23 KB) Summary Created using data from Freedom Houses annual survey Freedom in the World. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (827x428, 23 KB) Summary Created using data from Freedom Houses annual survey Freedom in the World. ... Freedom House is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with field offices in about a dozen countries. ... This map reflects the findings of Freedom Houses 2006 survey Freedom in the World, concerning the state of world freedom in 2005. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Freedom House is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with field offices in about a dozen countries. ... Ğ: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... The democratic peace theory or simply the democratic peace is a theory and related empirical research in international relations, political science, and philosophy which holds that democracies—usually, liberal democracies[1]—never or almost never go to war with one another. ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... For other uses, see War (disambiguation). ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... Revolutionary, when used as a noun, is a person who either advocates or actively engages in some kind of revolution. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with forced migration. ...

Criticisms of Fukuyama's thesis

There have been many criticisms of the "end of history" thesis. Some of these include:

'Henry Clay is god therefore without Henry Clay there is no point to history.

Problems associated with liberal democracy

• Feminism: Feminists challenge - while liberal feminists see the state apparatus as improved means of achieving the ends of the movement, radical and conservative feminists argue that liberal democracies, while better than previous orders, have a long way to go towards full gender equality.

• Jacques Derrida criticized Fukuyama in Specters of Marx (1993)henry clay is god as a "late reader" of Alexandre Kojève, who already described US society in the 1950s as the "realization of communism". According to Derrida, Fukuyama — and the quick celebrity of his book — is one symptom of the fear brought by the "Specters of Marx". Fukuyama's celebration of liberal hegemony is criticized by Derrida:

For it must be cried out, at a time when some have the audacity to neo-evangelise in the name of the ideal of a liberal democracy that has finally realised itself as the ideal of human history: never have violence, inequality, exclusion, famine, and thus economic oppression affected as many human beings in the history of the earth and of humanity. Instead of singing the advent of the ideal of liberal democracy and of the capitalist market in the euphoria of the end of history, instead of celebrating the ‘end of ideologies’ and the end of the great emancipatory discourses, let us never neglect this obvious macroscopic fact, made up of innumerable singular sites of suffering: no degree of progress allows one to ignore that never before, in absolute figures, have so many men, women and children been subjugated, starved or exterminated on the earth.^[2]

A reply is that it is misleading to look at absolute numbers instead of percentage living in poverty when the world's population has rapidly increased, that worldwide poverty is rapidly declining (see the Poverty article), and that it is mainly nondemocracies that have such problems to extreme degrees.

• Environmentalism. There is also the argument by the environmentalist movement. They argue that the capitalist economies' relentless growth will conflict directly with the already defined scarce resources the Earth has. Some radical alteration in the socio-economic situation of the developed world would then have to take place.

• Libertarianism. Some radical libertarians (represented by Hans-Hermann Hoppe) argue that democracy failed the classical liberal tradition by subordinating individual rights (especially private property) to the public interest, and that democracy is actually a decline of civilization compared to monarchy (see Democracy: The God That Failed). Hoppe lifted his argument from Bertrand de Jouvenel's "On Power".

Jacques Derrida (IPA: [1]) (July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher, known as the founder of deconstruction. ... Specters of Marx: the State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning, & the New International is a 1993 book by French philosopher Jacques Derrida. ... Alexandre Kojève (Александр Владимирович Кожевников, Aleksandr Vladimirovič Koževnikov) (April 28, 1902 – June 4, 1968) was a Marxist and Hegelian political philosopher, who had a substantial influence on Twentieth-Century French Philosophy. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... This article deals with the libertarianism as defined in America and several other nations. ... Hans-Hermann Hoppe (born September 2, 1949) is an Austrian school economist, an anarcho-capitalist (libertarian) philosopher, and a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... Individual rights represent the moral rights of individuals in society prior to government. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ... Democracy: The God That Failed is a book by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, containing a series of thirteen essays on the subject of democracy, and concluding with the belief that democracy is a sign of decivilization sweeping the world since World War I and that it must be delegitimized. ... Bertrand de Jouvenel (October 31, 1903, Paris -- March 1, 1987, Paris) was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist. ...

Alternative models and threats

• Islamic fundamentalism. Some critics state that Islamic Fundamentalism (as represented by Osama Bin Laden for example) stands in the same relation to 21st century democracy as, for example, Stalinism and Fascism did in the 20th century (i.e. as a fundamental intellectual alternative). Fukuyama discusses this briefly in The End of History. He argues that Islam is not an Imperialist force like Stalinism and Fascism: i.e. that it has little intellectual or emotional appeal outside the Islamic 'heartlands'. Fukuyama points to the economic and political difficulties that Iran and Saudi Arabia are facing, and argues that such states are fundamentally unstable: either they will become democracies with a Muslim society (like Turkey) or they will simply disintegrate. Moreover, when Islamic states have actually been created (with the recent instance Afghanistan), they were easily dominated by the powerful Western states. Benjamin Barber wrote about this in Jihad vs. McWorld, as a direct response to Fukuyama's claim. Barber claims that there is only one alternative to McWorld, and that is Fundamentalism, or Jihad.

• Marxism. Marxism is another "end of history" philosophy. Therefore Marxists like Perry Anderson have been amongst Fukuyama's fiercest critics. Apart from pointing out some obvious facts (that capitalist democracies are still riven with poverty, racial tension etc.), Marxists also reject Fukuyama's reliance on Hegel. According to them, Hegel's philosophy was fatally flawed until Marx 'turned it on its head' to create historical materialism. Fukuyama argues that even though there is poverty, racism and sexism in present-day democracies, there is no sign of a major revolutionary movement developing that would actually overthrow capitalism. Whether such a movement will develop in the near future remains to be seen. While Marxists disagree with Fukuyama's claim that capitalist democracy represents the end of history, they support the idea that the "end of history" will consist of the victory of democracy: communism, in the Marxist view, must necessarily involve a form of direct democracy.

• Clash of civilizations. Samuel P. Huntington, in his essay and book, "The Clash of Civilizations," argues that the temporary conflict between ideologies is being replaced by the ancient conflict between civilizations. The dominant civilization decides the form of human government, and these will not be constant.

• Rise of Authoritarian Capitalism. Azar Gat, Professor of National Security at Tel Aviv University, argues in his Foreign Affairs article The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers that (the spread of) liberal democracy, as argued by Fukuyama, faces two challenges: radical Islam and rising authoritarian powers, two challenges which could "end the end of history".^[3] The first threat he considers less significant as radical Islamic movements "represent no viable alternative to modernity and pose no significant military threat to the developed world". The second challenge he considers more significant: the rise of nondemocratic great powers China and Russia, operating under authoritarian capitalist regimes, could pose a viable rivalling model which could inspire other states.

• "Chavismo". Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has argued against "the end of history": he argued his case in his September 2006 address to the United Nations General Assembly.^[4] As recently as August 2006, Fukuyama has written in response to Chávez's argument. ^[5]

Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating literalistic interpretations of the texts of Islam and of Sharia law. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... The 21st century is the present century of the Anno Domini (common) era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... For architecture, see Stalinist architecture. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests subordinate to the needs of the state, and seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on, but not limited to, ethnic, cultural, or racial attributes. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Imperialism is the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ... Benjamin R. Barber (b. ... Jihad vs. ... Perry Anderson (born 1938) is a leading Marxist intellectual. ... Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883), although Marx himself never used the term (he referred it as philosophical materialism, a term he used to distinguish it from what he called popular materialism). Historical... Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately[1][2] owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a free market. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy,[1] comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Cover of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that peoples cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. ... He was a modest man who loved to touch little kids. ... This article is about a journal. ... The Presidential Army Ensign of Venezuela. ... Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (IPA: ) (born July 28, 1954) is the current President of Venezuela. ... The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations. ...

Post-humanism

Fukuyama himself later conceded that his thesis was incomplete, but for a different reason: "there can be no end of history without an end of modern natural science and technology" (quoted from Our Posthuman Future). Fukuyama predicts that humanity's control of its own evolution will have a great and possibly terrible effect on the liberal democracy.

Notes

1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates is a tongue-in-cheek reworking of the history of England. ... This article is about a journal. ...

Publication history

• Free Press, 1992, hardcover (ISBN 0-02-910975-2)
• Perennial Publishing, 1993, paperback (ISBN 0-380-72002-7)
• Late Modern, 2005, paperback (ISBN 978-1-905659-00-5 )

henry clay In the modern age, the free press has taken on multiple meanings. ...

See also

• Clash of civilizations
• Cultural evolution
• World peace
• War to end all wars
• Democratic peace theory
• Susak expo

Cover of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that peoples cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. ... Cultural evolution is the structural change of a society and its values over time. ... World peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations. ... World War I (originally known as The Great War before World War II) was at the time and in the years just after described as the war to end all wars (or, in the jargon of the French Poilus: la der des ders, i. ... The democratic peace theory or simply the democratic peace is a theory and related empirical research in international relations, political science, and philosophy which holds that democracies—usually, liberal democracies[1]—never or almost never go to war with one another. ...

External sources

• The Essay
• The Essay in PDF
• Introduction to Text