What does it mean by The End of History? and the Last Man?
Both expressions are highly correlated. Although the author, Francis Fukuyama, does not quote Ibrahim Maslow, his arguments follow him closely while debating with old time philosophers such as Hegel, Karl Marx, Plato, Socrates etc.
While Maslow depicts human needs in order from basic to the need of recognition, political philosophers emphasize that those needs shape the form of government. Human history is about the history of those development, from tribal rule, monarchy, communism, Nazism, dictatorship so on and so forth. The need of recognition is the considered the highest form in human- the last man- and the political system that in principle recognizes this and sticks to it is the final form of government i.e. this will be no more history.
The desire to be recognized as a human being with dignity drove man at the beginning of history into a bloody battle to the death for prestige. The outcome of this battle was a division of human society into a class of masters, who were willing to risk their lives, and a class of slaves, those who gave in to their natural fear of death. But the relationship of lordship and bondage, which took a wide variety of forms in all of the unequal, aristocratic societies that have characterized the greater part of human history, failed ultimately to satisfy the desire for recognition of either the masters or the slaves. He suggests that the evolution of the system of government will end in liberalism where human have equal rights, at least in principles and institutions.
He suggests that the evolution of the systems of governments will end in liberalism (liberal democracy) where human have equal rights, at least in principles and institutions. Thus, the Cold War is the test of the theory, and liberal democracy will last (that does not mean democratic countries have no issue to solve in a daily basis.)
While he argues that the system of liberal democracy is the only system that makes human human, he also raises the need of the debate between liberty and equality. Liberty promotes prosperity but the result may be disappointing for some. The sense of liberty also removes, at least to some extent, the sense of community and the sense of belonging to it.
In his simple expression, Liberal Democracy = free market economics + freedom of democratic politics.
Convinced or not, I believe it is worth reading.
"A bold and brilliant work. Very, very impressive."~ Irving Kristol.
The End of History and the Last Man, 1992
Author: Francis Fukuyama.
Publisher: Free Press.
My rating: 4.5/5.
My rating: 4.5/5.
