liberalism and its discontents fukuyama review

Essentially a system that is founded on the principle of equality of individual rights, law and freedom has evolved rather conspicuous inequalities in each of those realms. Fukuyama recognizes this fact and attempts to address the left’s criticism. A vital strength of this slim, elegant book is that it is crystalline in its definitions, even while acknowledging the complexities of practice.Īlthough liberalism is under attack from both left and right, it is from the left that the more serious intellectual challenge comes. It has become one of those words that mean different things to different political groupings. The first difficulty when it comes to rousing the liberal spirit is that liberalism is famously difficult to define. As he writes: “It’s clear liberalism has been in retreat in recent years.” But there seems little doubt that Fukuyama has had to eat rather a lot of humble pie. In some respects, the criticisms were unfair, or at least aimed at arguments he never made. He was seen as a naive believer in the inevitability of a western-defined idea of progress, and as someone who was blind to liberal democracy’s failings.

It argued that liberal democracy was essentially “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution.”Īs events such as 9/11, the Afghan and Iraq wars and the 2008 financial crisis took their toll on liberalism’s self-confidence, Fukuyama’s work was denounced as the height of Hegelian hubris.

Thirty years ago, following the inglorious collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, Fukuyama gained international recognition for his book entitled The End of History and the Last Man. Vladimir Putin, as Francis Fukuyama reminds us, has declared liberal democracy “obsolete.” His is not an uncommon opinion, even in liberal democracies. I read this book, which is a thoughtful critique but ultimately a stalwart defense of liberalism, as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, and it felt urgent and timely.

Liberalism and its discontents fukuyama review