Review: The End of History and the Last Man
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsIn 1989, The National Interest published ""The End of History?"" by Fukuyama, then a senior official at the State Department. In that comparatively short but extremely controversial article, Fukuyama speculated that liberal democracy may constitute the ""end point of mankind's ideological evolution"" and hence the ""final form of human government."" Now Fukuyama has produced a brilliant book that, its title notwithstanding, takes an almost entirely new tack. To begin with, he examines the problem of whether it makes sense to posit a coherent and directional history that would lead the greater part of humanity to liberal democracy. Having answered in the affirmative, he assesses the regulatory effect of modern natural science, a societal activity consensually deemed cumulative as well as directional in its impact. Turning next to a ""second, parallel account of the historical process,"" Fukuyama considers humanity's struggle for recognition, a concept articulated and borrowed (from Plato) by Hegel. In this context, he goes on to reinterpret culture, ethical codes, labor, nationalism, religion, war, and allied phenomena from the past, projecting ways in which the desire for acknowledgement could become manifest in the future. Eventually, the author addresses history's presumptive end and the so-called ""last man,"" an unheroic construct (drawn from Tocqueville and Nietzsche) who has traded prideful belief in individual worth for the civilized comforts of self-preservation. Assuming the prosperity promised by contemporary liberal democracy indeed come to pass, Fukuyama wonders whether or how the side of human personality that thrives on competition, danger, and risk can be fulfilled in the sterile ambiance of a brave new world. At the end, the author leaves tantalizingly open the matter of whether mankind's historical journey is approaching a close or another beginning; he even alludes to the likelihood that time travelers may well strike out in directions yet undreamt. An important work that affords significant returns on the investments of time and attention required to get the most from its elegantly structured theme.
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Ray Hartley - GoodreadsFrancis Fukuyama must hold the title for Most Misunderstood Intellectual. He is derided for having predicted in this seminal work written after the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Duncan - GoodreadsStarts off supposedly as an attempt to map out a sort-of Hegelian Universal History, but ultimately, Fukuyama does little to create one, this side of suggesting that Thymotic Desires have something to ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Piotr Pietrzak - GoodreadsVery good book by Piotr Pietrzak Author of the prospects for humanitarian intervention in Syria Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Nate - GoodreadsNot that I agree with all that was presented, but this was a lucid and compelling account of the whys and wherefors of the history of societal development. Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Maryk - GoodreadsThe End of History and the Last Man explores the ideology that mankind has reached its pinnacle and can evolve no more after finding societal perfection in capitalistic democracy. It also explores ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Joe Chernicoff - GoodreadsWhat I found of real interest in Francis Fukuyama's book is that I always understood much of what he wrote about, although I didn't realize that they were also the opinions, though a mixed bag of them ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - James Purkis Purkis - GoodreadsClearly in proposing such a radical/controversial thesis this book Fukuyama was going to be heavily criticised by many people. However, Fukuyama deserves credit for arguing a coherent and plausible ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - Greg Linster - GoodreadsDespite some political turmoil in the modern world, liberal democracy and economic liberalism seem to signal the end of political evolution, and this is the main argument presented in this wonderful ... Read full review
Review: The End of History and the Last Man
User Review - John - GoodreadsIt is weird to think of History as moving toward a goal, the realization of liberal democracy with a well educated public and a reasonably free press. But, if the goals are like directions to help ... Read full review
