Fukuyama's The End Of History Essay

2159 words - 9 pages

Fukuyama's article states that the world is nearing the "end of history". While the phrase "end of history" seems to suggest imminent doom and the end of the world. That is, however, not what he is suggesting. Fukuyama argues that history, or in other words the growth and development of human ideals and philosophies, is reaching its peak. The article delves into the various eras of the past such as the renaissance and explains the strengths and weaknesses of the main ideologies during those eras. He then further explains the growth pattern between those eras which has lead to the current ideology of liberal democracy. He believes that liberal democracy is the best ideology and that it is the final stage in human ideological development. He further suggest that human history should be viewed as a progression or battle of ideologies. With the current trend of universalization of liberal democracy and individualism, both characteristics of Western culture, he argues that Western liberal democracy has become the grand victor. He also asserts that despite the liberal democratic ideology has not completely been realized in the material world, the idea has been accepted and has triumphed over all alternate ideologies.
Fukuyama discusses the work of past philosophers, particularly Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, to explore the idea of history and its past, present and end. Hegel pinpointed the French Revolution as the start of the liberal and democratic system. He commented on how the triumph of the numerous poor to persuade the rich to give them what they want. When this system began to be realized in the world, Hegel argued that with this ideology major issues that characterized changes in history, such as war, would diminish. To prove his point that liberal democracy is the "be all and end all", he analyzed each of the major ideologies and their flaws, and he compared it to liberalism. He also analyzed liberalism for flaws regarding the core conflicts of society where a new political-economic system would resolve the conflicts. He uses examples of the rise and fall of communist countries, such as the Soviet Union and Japan, and their eventual uptake of democratic liberalism. He also uses the long history of prosperity in China as an example, where upon slowly introducing liberal ideologies into Chinese policy, their growth had increased substantially.
Fukuyama makes a strong argument on the prospect of the end of history. He uses examples from the past and the present to predict the future. The methodological structure of his article strengthens his argument. He first states his thesis and clarifies its meaning which serves three purposes: grabbing the reader's attention, clearing misconceptions, and introducing the reader to his article topic. He quickly reinforces his idea by analyzing famous philosopher's positions that match his thesis. For example he mentions Karl Marx and his predecessor Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and although he...

Find Another Essay On Fukuyama's The End of History

the end of natural Essay

947 words - 4 pages need to save and protect. Most of people would agree that this movie is making watchers rethink what they should dispose trash before they throw it away. The end of nature of trash waste caused by human in the future is unavoidable, if people do not realize what is happening to the environment and act responsibility to protect ourselves and nature soon. Works Cited Saier, Milton. "Pollution." Environmentalist 26.3 (2006): 205-9. ProQuest. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. Works Cited Medina, Martin. "Talking Trash." Foreign Policy.168 (2008): 40-1. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

The End of Integration Essay


Beginning of the End

816 words - 4 pages of the steps. A fire had strangled whatever little magnificence was left. Brownshirts were dragging Jews onto the steps and beating them. Their shrieks tore through me like a shard of glass. At the back of the crowd, a mother clutched her shuddering child fearfully. ‘Dies ist der Anfang des Endes,’ she whispered absentmindedly. This is the beginning of the end… ‘Speak, Herr Eisenberg!’ The baton was struck against my shins again. ‘If we cannot


849 words - 3 pages 1. INTRODUCTIONThis essay aims to discuss the current structure of SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Radio. This will be achieved by giving an overview of the history of SABC Radio pre-democracy, and then stating the developments which have been made in terms of structure post-democracy. The essay will end off with a brief overview of the SABC's radio stations.2. THE HISTORY OF SABC RADIOIn December 1923, South African Railways made




1276 words - 5 pages In his contentious book, "The End of History and the Last Man" (1992), Francis Fukuyama argues that with the defeat of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent abandonment of communism as an ideological rival to liberal democracy, mankind has made its final evolution in political theory and liberal democratic governance has been proven to be the superior model. But is Fukuyamas thesis simply a glib celebration of Western hegemony


1618 words - 6 pages Looking back over the period from the late-nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century, whatdo you identify as the single most important transformation of the global power-structure? Why?What were the political, economic, and social effects of this transformation, from the level ofinternational relations to the level of ordinary people's lives? If you were to prepare a collegelevelpresentation on this topic, what source(s) would you use to

essay on the progressive movent sought to end the problems of industrilization. - us history - research

1509 words - 7 pages 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. The progressive movement sought to resolve the problems of industrialization such as child labor in the workforce, and the harsh conditions in the meat factories. These solutions were a benefit to American society. Industrialization was a turning point in history due to the growth of different industries and businesses. There were major issues that affected the lives of Americans

Fundamentalism and Nationalism Were Great Threats According to Fukyama's In the End of History

1414 words - 6 pages In the End of History?, which was written at the conclusion of the cold war, Fukuyama argues that with the collapse of communism and of the Soviet Union, that history in terms of ideological differences had come to an end. What does this mean? Fukuyama believed that liberal democracies in which the western world and Europe had become accustomed too, was reaching its pinnacle, its prime. It had begun to spread throughout the world. He believed

History of Torture and the Organizations that Attempt to End Torture Practices

663 words - 3 pages . Amnesty International focuses on making human rights known and heard all over the world and ultimately putting an end to cases of human rights abuses. (Amnesty International, 2008) United Nations In 1899 the International Press Conference was held in The Hague to get specific on rules and regulations regarding crisis and codifying the rules of war. The League of Nations was the United Nations predecessor, and had similar visions, but it was

The End of the Beginning

1072 words - 5 pages history ever before. In the end though, it will all fall down on the individual to make the conscience decision to change how they live in this polluted world past generations have created. Thanks to new advances in solar, wind, and hydropower not only are these resources easier to obtain but also are becoming more practical in worldwide use today. With governments around the world throwing money towards the cause of moving away from fossil fuels, the

Similar Essays

The End Of History Essay


The End Of Men Essay

1200 words - 5 pages The word feminism first appeared in France and the Netherlands in 1872, and by 1910 it had spread all over the world. The feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men”. The feminist movement is divided into three “waves” The world today is a place where men and women aren’t dependent on each other, researcher have come up with m The article “The End of Men”, written by

Theories Of The End Essay

796 words - 4 pages January 1, 2000, May 21, 2011, December 21, 2012 any of these dates sound familiar? These dates actually meant a lot to some people because they believed that these days would be the end for mankind or the apocalypse. The apocalypse is an event to end all final existences on Earth. Although these three dates were some of the most popular in recent times men have been predicting the end of the world since the beginning of time. The people who

The End Of E? Essay

3779 words - 15 pages The End of e? As commodity trading is being dominated more and more by technology, the Internet economy is becoming passÃ© as it evolves into part of the mainstream global economy. Daniel Batts of Tullett & Tokyo Liberty plc reflects on the hype and explores the increasing focus on blending technology with existing old economy practices in order to establish effective hybrid broking services in the European Power markets.From