The End of History and the Last Man

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Summary: A must-read even for the lay public
Review: This book deeply impressed me. Before I started reading it, I was skeptical concerning the author's views. But after completing it I can only nod my head in full agreement. Not only does he do an excellent job in articulating and defending his position, the seven years that have passed since the book's publication confirm the trends that he describes. In addition, Mr. Fukuyama is a wonderful writer in that his writing style flows almost like a story. Finally, I would hate to think that potential readers would be reluctant to buy the book fearing that its prognosis for society is a negative one. On the contrary, the message is optimistic. Even inspirational. I would recommend this book even for people who have no interest in history, politics, sociology, or even reading for that matter. Enjoy.

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Summary: Long-winded and essentially pointless
Review: It takes several hundred pages for Fukuyama to build some kind of pseudo-philosophical model on the course of history and then essentially refute his own thesis in the last paragraph of the book. I can't believe I wasted the time it took to read this book. It's only value is to showcase the arrogance of Western (mainly American, i.e. George Will and his ilk) conservatives who believe that the entire world should adopt the liberal democratic political model. Fukuyama makes a number of questionable claims about global politics and the state of democracy in the world, and the book is too full of contradictions to list here. If you must read this book, then simply read the introducton, since he makes all his main arguments there, and then skip to the last few paragraphs where, as I mentioned, he contradicts his own thesis. Readers would be better off reading the actual works of Hegel, Nietzche, etc. than Fukuyama's sloppy re-hashing and "development" of their ideas.

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Summary: An excellent in-depth analysis of modern geopolitical realit
Review: The End Of History And The Last Man, by Francis Fukuyama: A Review

It is seldom that one comes across a book which can hold us spellbound from beginning to end. But this is the case of this masterpiece by Fukuyama. In this book, Fukuyama proposes a return to Hegel's historiosophical concept of a Universal History which has a clear direction, purpose and progress. After having passed through many stages of development, history has finally come to its end. This, of course, does not mean that time has come to an end. Life and death will continue, the season of the year and the passage of the decades go forward. But history is a particular process in which we witness specific changes in the political organization and cultural arrangements of human societies. This process seems to evolve in accordance with specific laws, such as the expansion of the levels of human freedom. The liberal democracies developed in the modern times are the culmination of such a process, because they embody the fullness of the ideal of human freedom. Sure, there are adjustments which can be made to perfect particular democracies, but the concept itself of democracy as the self-determination of peoples cannot be improved upon. Hence, history has reached its end, its goal.

Fukuyama brilliantly developes throughout the book the theme of Plato's tripartite division of the human soul into reason, passion and desire, and its consequences for political science. Political systems are reflections of human yearnings, the attempt of human beings to give full expression to their own humanness. What ultimately matters is how a particular society balances these three elements of human nature. Hegel's thesis is that history begins with the first man who was able to gain mastery over his fellow man and thus achieve a level of recognition as a superior being. Masters come to rule over slaves first and foremost because they are able to face courageously the fear of death, whereas slaves prefer to obey submissively the stronger man than to forfeit their own lives. Fear of death is the primary motivation of the slave. Aristocrats, on the other hand, are driven by the impulse to seek superior recognition through fearless self-sacrifice in battle and war. The element of the human soul which is emphasized in aristocratic societies is passion (thymos).

Modern liberal democracies came into existence as the reslut of a rebellion of the masses of servants who yearned for freedom and recognition of their value as human beings. Theirs too was a search based on thymos, but it is distinguisgable from the thymos of the aristocracy. The masses search for the dignity that comes with the equality of all human beings (isothymia), is contradistinction to the aristocratic dignity which is based on their lordship over other people (megalothymia). A liberal democracy is based on the principle of freedom and equality of all human beings.

But what is the purpose of a liberal democratic system ? Here is where Fukuyama's analysis reaches its peak of subtlety. The end of human life is "the pursuit of happiness", understood as the search for safety, survival, comfort and material well-being. The furtherance of private property to the highest possible degree becomes the ultimate expression of success in a liberal democracy such as the one in the United States. In order to assure the accomplishment of happiness for the largest possible number of people we must restrict the impulse of thymos and allow for the development of the rational side of human nature. Through science, human beings come to subdue nature and are thus capable of fulfilling as well the third part of their souls, "desire". Reason and desire go hand in hand, the former being the means to satisfy the latter. The two of them thrive best in the context of the peaceful coexistence of human beings who show, above all, the virtue of tolerance for the differences of their fellow human beings.

One might think that such an ideal picture would be easily supported by all people. But the nature of thymos is not to be restricted without its devastating consequences. Its elimination carries with it the trivialization of human pursuits. The modern liberal man finds himself suffocated under the weight of unbearably petty pursuits and wants which diminish his sense of meaningfulness in life. He wastes his life away in the meaningless search for comfort and lives constantly with the crippling fear of loosing his security, safety and comfort. He becomes sub-human. He looses all the ideals for which his ancestors were willing to risk their lives.

Democracy may have built into itself a contradiction which may become its nemesis. The last man, having achieved physical security and material well-being under the protection of the peaceful coexistence of liberal democracies, may find a gnawing sense of dis-satisfaction that could drive him, in his pursuit of meaning for himself and the world surrounding him, to renewed conflict with his fellow human beings.

In the wake of an incredible wave of democratization in the world, following the collapse of communism and authoritarianism, we must face the question of whether we are in some sense approaching the end of history. Are we coming to the culmination of a linear process that once fulfilled may usher in a new era a peaceful coexistence, or will we experience a rebellion of the human soul against a system that imposes the imprint of shallow materialism across all borders ? This question is one which remains yet to be answered. Fukuyama has brought us, in an impeccably lucid and compelling way, to the edge of our historical journey, and he provided us with tools to understand and appreciate the ultimate existential dilemma which we now face. His work has unquestionably earned its rightful place as a classic in contemporary political theory.

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Summary: George Ilic
Review: I read End of History for the first time in 1992. I picked the book up once again when the War in Yugoslavia started again in March 1999. Francis Fukyama puts forward all the right reasons why Liberal Democracies will triumph over all other ideologies but never would Francis have predicted that these Liberal Democracies will be protected using Great Walls , German Style or Demilitarized zones , Korea Style nor the abuse of International Law , of which all is happening in Yugoslavia at the moement. I would love to read a followup to the End of History by Francis Fukyama with the Balkans in mind. A most thought provoking book.

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Summary: sophisticated analysis of post-cold war world
Review: Fukuyama's The End of History is one of the major answers of liberal internationalism to the crumbled doctrines of marxism-leninism, which had finally been defeated. Fukuyama shows that liberalism at last has the chance to become the dominating political force to sweep the globe and liberate humanity. It is the stepping stone for its inevitable victory.

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Summary: One of the most relevant books I ever read.
Review: I bought this book titillated by its title: it was eerily reminiscent of a story I had read or heard somewhere about those who were seriously suggesting in the late 19th. century France to close the Patent Bureau, since "everything that had to be invented was already invented". (Can anybody help me find a bona-fide printed source for this gem or is it just an unsubstantiated annecdote?). What a surprise to find how wonderfully and intentionally misleading (or titillating?) this title was.

This is one of those books which, in spite of reading it with a pen in hand and marking it up copiously, when I reached the end I felt a compelling need to read it again. It is not a question of agreeing or disagreeing with the author, but a question of getting intellectually stimulated in a way few books did it for me. An educational tool to be highly recommended for any age group.

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Summary: A Fantastic and Provocative Book!
Review: I have read this book because a friend told me to do it. I was surprised with it! Though some of Mr. Fukuyama's conclusions are quite exagerated I think that in many aspects you will have to agree with him. It is a book that makes you think who are we and waht are we doing? Is democracy the response to human kind problems? In conclusion: it is quite a boook, if you know what I mean!

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Summary: Bravo! A truly educational account of history.
Review: You may not agree with every point that Mr. Fukuyama makes about history and humanity, but at the very least you should be stimulated to think about historical events with a new perspective. His is a wonderfully researched and developed account of something that I wondered sometimes: why are we here, and where are we going?

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Summary: Last Word on Political Philosophy
Review: One of the most misunderstood books in recent memory. Its widespread misreading is testament to Nietzsche's observation that few today in our mediocre age know how to read well. Contrary to popular conception Fukuyama is a closet Nietzschean who foresees the inevitable collapse of liberal democracy and hence of the modern political dream. Fukuyama returns to the Platonic view that there is no political solution to the human problem. This is probably the Last Word on political philosophy.

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Summary: New point of view about human history
Review: In an economic world, we all analize the economic and political facts based on materialist theories (Marxist theory of value). Fukuyama shows us a differnt way of thinking that lets us understand past, present and future events.