liberalism and its discontents francis fukuyama on fixing democracy

It is still a defense of liberalism however, as Fukuyama himself says in the opening line of the preface. In contrast to his earlier works, with the partial exception of 2018’s Identity, this is a book characterized not by its showcasing of liberalism’s strengths, but liberalism’s weaknesses. But, in other ways, it’s a final breaking point between the Fukuyama of old and the Fukuyama of today. If for no other reason than “a certain boredom,” a desire to “struggle for the sake of struggle” and prove to themselves that they remain free, that they “remain human beings.”įukuyama’s latest book, Liberalism and its Discontents, is in some ways a coming to terms with the fact that his prediction of a besieged liberalism came true. In his telling at the time, liberalism brings peace, stability, and prosperity, but humans may struggle against it anyway. It was a misinterpretation by a group of people who, seemingly, had failed to read the final five, somewhat eerie, chapters of the book - the chapters grouped under the heading of “The Last Man.” In those, Fukuyama makes clear that liberalism may not remain unchallenged. But the alleged triumphalism of that book was always overstated. And to be sure, Fukuyama celebrated liberalism in those pages The End of History is a work of political theory meant to show that liberalism escapes the processes that crushed Communism and Fascism under the weight of their internal contradictions. The alleged liberal triumphalism of The End of History looked increasingly silly amidst the backdrop of a rising, increasingly totalitarian China, in particular. For one thing, its author Francis Fukuyama went from being regarded as a kind of liberal wunderkind to the butt of many a joke.

New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022.Ī lot has happened in the 30 years since The End of History and the Last Man was published in 1992.

Liberalism and its discontents francis fukuyama on fixing democracy