Question: What does Fukuyama mean by the end of history? Is he correct to suggest that the end of the Cold War was in fact The End of History?
Frances Fukuyama in his book The End of History and the Last Man, an expansion of an earlier essay, contradicted the theory of Karl Marx that communism would displace capitalism. Instead Fukuyama argued that the advent of Western liberal democracy may signal the endpoint of humanity’s sociocultural evolution and the final form of human government – an end of history as such. Fukuyama went on to produce another piece on the topic – Reflections on the End of History, Five Years Later in response to the flurry of misinterpretation and criticism received over the earlier works.
First, this essay will introduce Frances Fukuyama’s End of World Theory. Second, it will discuss the rise of liberal, democratic, capitalism. Third, the essay examines a socialist alternative between communism and liberal, democratic capitalism. Finally, the essay will argue that Fukuyama was incorrect in originally stating that the end of the Cold War signified the end of history and considers his later reflections that attempt clarification of the earlier works.
Fukuyama’s End of World theory implies that the end of the Cold War and the consequential
…show more content…
Rather, he suggests that liberalism – democracy and market capitalism – had become more popular.
Supporting the notion that Fukuyama was not correct in suggesting that the end of the Cold War was in fact the end of history, it is notable that Fukuyama later revealed his thesis was incomplete stating, "there can be no end of history without an end of modern natural science and technology", and later again in 2006 that his argument was misunderstood, (Bendle 2012) this concedes that his original assumptions were not