Fukuyama's “End
of History?” suggests that “history” and the evolution of
ideologies will come to an end with the culmination of all philosophy
and the epitome of all possible conception of thought being
liberalism.
Dictionary.com
defines liberalism as:
a polotical or
social philosophy advocating the freedom of the individual,
parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent modification of
political, social or economic institutions to assure unrestricted
development in all spheres of human endeavor, and governmental
guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties (Thankyou,
Dictionary.com)
Fukuyama seems to
be asserting that this ideology will prevail as the only one that
works or makes any sense and that eventually we as a species might
just stop questioning its legitimacy as the superior way of existing.
Fukuyama makes some
interesting points with which I personally agree and/ or find to be
evident/ fascinating. He asserts that ideologies are more than just
superstructures that cater to and reaffirm the leading mode of
subsistence. Rather, ideologies shape our view of the world and
ultimately shape our actions and every last little thing that we
manifest as individuals and as a human species as a whole.
Ideologies shape the way we interact with one another, the way we
fulfill desires, the way we even determine what is desirable. Ideas are
the precursor to most actions men take and the blueprint to any
structure we erect- be it physical (such as a football stadium) or
conceptual (such as a form of government). “FAILURE
to understand that the roots of economic behavior lie in the realm of
consciousness and culture leads to the common mistake of attributing
material causes to phenomena that are essentially ideal in nature.”
(Fukuyama, pg4)
And, the fact that
liberalism has been more supportive of economic prosperity... or,
more specifically so supportive of production and consumerism.....
is rather evident. And, that this consumer-driven culture is
becoming popular in other nations and fueling the spread of liberal
ideals is also evident. Fukuyama mentioned something of rock n roll
and chain restuarants becoming popular all over the world. But, I
didn't underline it because I was reading it on Microsoft Word
instead of Open Office, and I don't own the right to edit on Word.
And the document is so dense I can't find the passage now. But you
know what I mean. Our ideals, our culture, our way of living is
becoming trendy in other countries. Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats is
just huge in Japan. So is Reel Big Fish- more so than here in the
states (Fukuyama, pg?) And, it would seem that this point is being
considered as a sort of validation for liberalism.
But, I'm honestly
not completely sure if Fukuyama was being sincere. He comes across as
rather serious as he dissects in detail why fascism and communism
failed in the 20th century. He goes into detail about
their demise. Yes, they do not exactly work the way their proponents
believed they would.
But does that mean that the path we are on now is the epitome of
possible human accomplishment? I'm not saying liberalism is or is not
the epitome of all possible concepts or philosophies of which we
could ever possibly conceive. I do not pretend to know at this point
in my silly little existence the most superior knowledge that our
species could ever possibly possess. I am a girl. What do we know?
But I am hardly impressed with or in awe of the results that free
market capitalism and liberal idealism have fostered. Materialism is
so shallow and void of any real meaning or value. It is void and
empty and meaningless and wasteful. And Fukuyama's closing statement
seems to echo these sentiments. That last paragraph really made the
rest of the article for me. Really, the forty thousand years our
species has been progressing (or not progressing or whatever we have
been up to) is not that impressive in the grand scheme of things. We
are rather juvenile... like when I moved out when I was eighteen and
thought I was so grown up. Oh, we still have so much learning and
growing to do. I would like to hope the we never stop trying to
improve upon everything that we can. Is it far fetched or impossible
to believe that we as a species are only in our infancy and that some
other belief system that fosters enlightenment (rather than corporate
servitude) could be dreamed up?
I woke up from an interesting dream one morning muttering the words
“Fukuyama is being facetious.”
You can decide for yourself. Here is the famous article for you, if you please
It is interesting to ponder it.
Wishing you everything that is wonderful in this brilliantly beautiful universe.
Take care.
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