History and the Written by Francis Fukuyama Chatto and Windus, E20 Reviewed by Paul Clarke USSTATE Department olicy adviser Francis ukuvama became an in stant celebrity when he ublished his 1989 article Te End of History? in 1989.
Although published in an thesis, coinciding with the collapse of Stalinism, struck an immediate chord.
His new book elaborates the thesis in more detail. The collapse of Stalinism reprevictory of capitalist democracy over all forms of totalitarianism. History, far from being indecipherable as weak-minded postmoder 180 9 14808088808 4880 ogic. The logic is towards economic growth, which represents the great Mechanism of history. But Marx was wrong to imagine that socialism provided the basis growth; actually free market capitalism is the answer But human beings do not live by economic advance alone. They demand recognition", a feeling of personal worth and esteem. Only liberal democracy can provide this. Democracy is The must funcional system in proviais the Dess iramework for capitalist economic efficiency; and, fortunately, liberal democracy gives human worth and dignity as well.
Fukuyama openly adheres of Hegel rather than Marx. human pre-history, is not socialism but the liberal con dawn of the end of historv can be said to have been the battle of lena in 18io. in which Napoleon's bourgeois Fukuvama at least has the merit of trying to interpret derlying logic and patterns. For this as been roundly attacked by French rightmard Henri Levias the last 'new philosopher BerMarxist'. But can his ideas be sustained against the evidence?
In fact the basic idea is old matically gives rise to liberal Jemocracy: Sevmour Martir Lipset was making his intellectual reputation saying the lame thing in the 1950. Em irically, Fukayama car point to the fact that all the main advanced capitalist democracies.
But he makes several as. sumpuons without which his propositions begin to collapse. First, that liberal democracy is based on a more or-less stable capitaist conomic system, and thus that democracy is an automatic product of advanced capitalism. And third, that alf the countries of the third world' can become advanced countries provided they adopt a rigorous free market economy.
Wrong struggle
Democratic rights under capitalism are not simply the product of the bourgcoisie's struggle against pré capitalist classes. On the contrary, there is a mass of historical evidence that the key class in securing the estab lishment of democratic freedoms is the working class and its struggle.
Constitutional democracy is far from having conquered the world after the collapse 25 states which can be reasonably said to be liberal democracies. There is no proof that capitalist lemocracy is absolutely secure; the rise of Le Pen's Front National in France shows that it could face short-term threats.
Fukuyama's assumption that the economic development of Korea , Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong snows that tree marker capitalism is the answer for preposterous. Thatcherism n the Sudan or Bangladesh boggles the imagination!
Idealism
Equally, Fukuyama's picture of the advanced capitaist countries as beins a big friendly 'Sweden' (or Sweden as it used to be) with health and social security provision, and general affluence is also highly US voters abstain in huge are satisfied affluent zombies, but because there is no real choice on offer from the fluent capitalism is another Fukuyama myth.
There is a correction, or rather a deeper speculation, Introduced in the book as oprosed to the 1989 article the satisfied citizens of ('the Last Man') will be conther challenge than choosing the next consumer goodies. with no challenges, no struggles? Might they not rebel against the 'end of history'?
He has a point here. Even true, the victory of the commodity spectacle would be a crushingly boring and stifling affair. But in any case it is highly unlikely ever to come about Francis Fukuyama has the great merit of posing the big questions. He is a coherent opponent of Marxism, who takes history seriously, unlike the nihilistic postmoderhim in the British academic refusal to debate generalisBut to make his ex travagant claims he is led to systematically exaggerate obviously in the third world. Part of the reason he can get away with it is the relative weakness of the left and the labour movement, and the disorientation which the cold war victory of the US had caused.
Kefuting Fukuvama is in the end a practical task. Swatting capitalist ideologues won't matter much if a serious socialist challenge is not built in the advanced capitalist countries.
March 21, 1992