The End of History and the Last Man

The term end of the story (English: End of History ) was popularized by the political scientist Francis Fukuyama by an article and a book with this title ( The End of History and the Last Man, 1992) and led to controversies to the editorials of various newspapers. Fukuyama particular repeated thoughts that Alexandre Kojève was formulated in the 1930s and 40s. This presented a very idiosyncratic, but in France epochal Hegel interpretation. Hegel's philosophy of history actually leads to an end in the sense of a final synthesis, when there is no global political contradictions more ( see Article dialectic ).

Fukuyama defended the thesis that since the collapse of the USSR and its dependent socialist states soon the principles of liberalism would be final and prevail in the form of democracy and a market economy everywhere. Later, he admitted that in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, a different dynamic rule (see also Islam ).

The thesis of Fukuyama builds among other things, on considerations of Marx, Hegel, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

The Spicy in Fukuyama's book is that he explains the methods of Marxism whose demise. This mixing of two opposing worldviews he came, however, in both camps with vehement criticism.

Criticism

Fukuyama's thesis assume an inevitability in the course of history. Therefore, his book was rejected by all those people who - for example in the spirit of Karl Popper - The People concede the freedom to make history at will. According to this view it is impossible to predict future historical developments - hence the exclamations of was " end of history " misses. But Fukuyama represents a different concept of history, just the presence of global contradictions. He does not claim that after the collapse of these contradictions nothing happens. But this the question must be asked whether any one can speak of an end in the sense of being arrested in the last happened.

Fukuyama has since admitted that he did not foresee the rise of Islamism observed by him against the winner of the Cold War, with the liberal Christian bourgeoisie. So would continue its optimistic forecasts will be moved backward. The end of the story there is now in the dynamic integration and assimilation of non-Western cultures into Western culture, among surrender their principles in favor of freedom and human rights.

There are (as of end 2013) evidence that democracy has lost as a form of government worldwide to support and that the influence of the military has increased.