by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings0 commentstags: Comprehensive Analysis, Meta History, Political Opinion, Western Ascendance
A controversial book that created a storm of derision and disbelief when it came out following the collapse of communism in 1992. Fukuyama argues how the West’s liberal capitalist democratic model of governance has become the epitome of human civilization. The West represents the final step in mankind’s political evolution. Fukuyama says that there are no other political models to truly challenge liberalism. Authoritarian regimes of both the right and left political wings will rise but eventually fall. Globalization is just the latest incarnation of the Western model being embraced by most of the world community. It is too deeply rooted to ever see a major reversal. Liberalism, capitalism, and democracy have won and the ideological conflict of the past 20th century is over. Fukuyama named his book in part because he believes that Hegel’s view that human society would evolve into rationale governance has arrived and history has ended. Following 9-11 many considered this book to be irrelevant. Despite its title, Fukuyama did not predict an end to conflict between the West and other ideologies. Some countries or regions might fall under the sway of religious fundamentalism (Middle East) or cultural co-opting of capitalism (Asia), but these will not […]
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 commentstags: Human History, Meta History, Western Ascendance
Why does the West have a more materialistic wealth than the rest of the world? Why did the West influence every continent and people on this planet instead of the other way around? In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist’s answer: Ecology, particularly geography, fauna, animal availability, and climate. Diamond almost seems to say that human choice and desire had little to contribute but he does explain its relative importance near the end of this 480 page book. Diamond reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age in a style that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. He does not talk about linear progression of human history but about the handful of critical factors that pivotly change the trajectory of history for certain societies. Diamond writes that “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves.” The people who domesticated plants and animals early got a head start on developing agriculture and an immunity to deadly germs. He demonstrates how this leads to the development of government, writing, and technology. Diamond further argues that human ingenuity is simply the result […]
Recent Comments