In his essay, The End of History, Fukuyama discusses the rise and fall of various ideologies throughout history, and the prevalence of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.
Fukuyama suggests that history can be summarized by different ideologies. He points out the Karl Marx also sought out the ‘end of history’ when he proposed communism as the final and perfect form of government. Marx, according to Fukuyama, borrowed this idea of a beginning middle and end of history from Hegel. Fukuyama takes it one step further and looks at Kojeve’s interpretation of Hegel’s theories to gain a better understanding of ideology’s roll in history. According to Kojeve, Hegel believed that ideology is made up of not just political beliefs and policies, but religious, cultural and moral values as well. Throughout history, man’s quest has been a subconscious search for all of his needs to be satisfied and conflicts resolved. All of human’s behaviors in the material world are therefore a result of their consciousness. In Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, the economic theory that suggested that man is a rational profit-maximize is disproven. It was believed that high wages meant increased labor productivity, but in reality, a peasant would value leisure more than income, and therefore work less for the same amount. The choice of leisure demonstrates that man’s behaviors are not entirely determined by material forces, but are predominately determined by the forces of consciousness, which Fukuyama more broadly labels as ‘ideology.’ Having established ideology as the impetus of history, Fukuyama describes the evolutionary progression of history as the push for a perfect ideology. In his eyes, history will...
... middle of paper ...
...trend of democracy continues and my predictions of the Middle East and China are correct. What happens then? This is what Fukuyama meant by the ‘end of history.’ No longer is the world pitting different ideologies against one another. Fukuyama predicts that at this point there will only be small conflicts over technological and economical issues. However, this is where I agree with Fukuyama’s critics. The technological and economical issues will not be the only issues the world faces. National and cultural ideologies will arise even in the face of liberal democracies worldwide. As Himmelfarb points out, the holocaust was an entirely unprovoked event. With that being said, the future will always have new unprovoked events and ideas occurring. Some may be so influential, that they will impact certain countries and perhaps introduce new and better (or worse) ideologies.
George Washington, the first president of the United States, had written a very important historical speech and document towards the end of his time in office. He had written the Farewell address which focused on helping America understand the importance of preserving unity, acknowledging the rise of political parties forming, strengthening religion and morality, and he stated his position on American foreign policy. He addressed these ideas with strong tone and used incredible amount of dictions that strengthens his tone as well as representing his appeal to ethos to a strong degree. However, today’s society seemed to forget Washington’s position on foreign policy and has created a new form of the policy. But nonetheless as time grew, change occurs. In today’s society Washington’s foreign policy would include many positive and negative manifestations, but it is still a speech and document that will always apply to America.
The German Ideology starts off by illustrating the critique of the German idealists, while presenting Marx and Engels' alternative: materialistic view of history. According to Marx, the main reason for political and economical retrogression of Germany is its obsession with Hegel's view on history as a chain of phases or manifestations of World Spirit or Absolute Mind. It's possible to trace Marx's critique in three different perspectives. Initially, he directed his critique towards the very nature of Hegelian system, by stating its "contemplative" aspect. Secondly, he presented detailed analysis of discrepancies, regarding logical categories and religious conceptions, which rose between the Young and Old Hegelians. According to old Hegelians, the history was simply chronology of ideas, and the reason Germany was flourishing ,only because it was constructed on the best ideas. In the meantime, Young Hegelians adopted dialectics...
“Philosophy is the history of philosophy”-Georg Hegel. Historicism is one of the important pillars of Hegelian philosophy, which attempts to provide insight on human social activities and thought process. According to Hegel, our thoughts and activities are directly influenced, defined and can understood by their history. Despite its perceived appeal in explaining this ultimate declaration, it has been the source of philosophical debate over the years and have been criticized by some philosophers as the hindrance to progress, that has justified relatively contemporary societal disputes. Fundamental faults are pointed out in Hegelian historicism. Philosophical schools such as structuralism and determinism as well as human psychology contradict historicism.
This theory views history of human beings as a succession of modes of production to meet human material needs. This mode of production determines the social relation that would exist among a society. According to the theory, when a change in mode of production takes place, there will be a conflict “between the forces of production and the social relations of production” ("Marx And Historical Materialism")
In conclusion, the belief, relevance, and importance of the repetition of Chinese history are all explained and propagated by concepts of the Good Life, Good Society and Good State presented within the teachings of Confucius, the Dynastic Cycle and the Han Synthesis. All three concepts evolved from the ideas of Confucius and all highlight that Chinese history repeats itself by focusing on the inevitable rise and fall of each new dynasty. This makes the state accountable to its people for its actions. Confucius’ ideas on filial piety and how a ruler should govern shaped the Han Synthesis. No matter how benevolent the individual is, time and history march inevitably onward. Benevolence gives way to corruption and the process of degeneration and creation are repeated.
In 1806, nearly two hundred years before Fukuyama’s audacious historical stance, George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel declared the end of history. Hegel bases his claim in that the Napoleonic Code, a preliminary, yet revolutionary replacement of previous feudal laws, was being promulgated and slowly implemented throughout Napoleon’s empire . Hegel believes, however, that the adoption of a particular code or set of standards for a civil society, like the Napoleonic Code or the Constitution of the United States, is stipulated on the rational evolution or progression of peoples towards the realization that they are free or equal. In short, a constitution that guarantees your freedom means nothing to those who do not possess the self-consciousness
Marx and Engels, and Kant share a fundamental commonality in the conception of human history in that they both acknowledge history as a rational process whose movement follows a progressive future outline. Their concept of process, a central theme to their conception of human history, gives meaning to individual human actions which appears as simple, haphazard event, with purposive shape and rational meaning. In Kant, progress assumes the form of realizing the human potential of reason; in Marx, it is the abolishment of class differences in the revolutionary transition to communism. To this extent, one can characterize their theory as utopian conception of historical progress, having a teleological purpose at the end of human history.
It is the 18th century and the Enlightenment, which is also known as the Age of Reason in Europe and America, and humankind faces an intellectual, philosophical and social movement that is focused on science and reason. Religion, politics and economics are changing focus. Wars are being fought within, as opposed to between countries. This time prior to the French Revolution finds monarchies being executed in France and England. The rising merchant class is demanding social and political power held previously by the nobility. There are major social changes, as inherited positions are less secure. People no longer believed that every event that occurred was a result of God’s intervention. There is a new way of thinking about religion, natural rights as well as natural laws. There is an attitude that God is the creator of a universe that functions without intervention. Deism believed in a hereafter, but also believed we should focus on this life’s achievements and joy, rather than look at a life in the hereafter. The concept of humanitarianism; helping those less fortunate, is a new concept during this time since prior to that the religious belief was that if someone experienced misfortune, it was God’s will and punishment. The Enlightenment focused on man, rather than God and the church. Where prior to the 1700s man lived in an agricultural society during the feudal period, the Enlightenment witnessed the development of a more cosmopolitan society, with people living in groups that were interdependent on each other. It opened the gateway to the Industrial Revolution. The Enlightenment inspired the world’s first democracy, in the United States of America. The new approach in reasoning and problem solving is what makes ...
Max Weber was opposed to Marx and believed that his theory was an oversimplification of history. He thought Marx’s view of history was too focused on economics and was not considering the role of ideas and values as causes. Weber felt that scientific, historical, and philosophical causation was so connected with economic development that they can not be
According to Karl Marx, religion is like other social institutions in that it is dependent upon the material and economic realities in a given society. It has no independent history; instead it is the creature of productive forces. As Marx wrote, “The religious world is but the reflex of the real world.”
In conclusion, it can clearly be seen through all of the examples posed that the belief systems of a nation can both directly and indirectly influence a nation’s people and culture. Whether it be negative, such as Legalism’s harsh rule causing revolts and Confucianism’s filial piety causing economic downfall, or positive, such as Buddhism reuniting the people of China and Daoism’s advancement in sciences, the correlation is clear. This influence has occurred in nearly every nation that existed, and likely every nation to come, as it all revolves around a single idea: all of the actions we take, and the products which sprout from them, are rooted from our beliefs.
"SOCY 151 - Lecture 12 - Marx's Theory of History." Open Yale Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Human beings have been struggling to learn the meaning of life since the first day. Ideologies are born as human’s interpretation of the world and belief system, also an endeavor to seek the truth of human nature. Ideologies emerge throughout the periods of great changes: the Enlightenment, the English “Glorious” Revolution, the American Revolution, etc. They have become the motivations, the standards, and the roots to modern political systems. Their roots are the philosophies developed by famous philosophers throughout the time. However, as each ideology is developed, its own contradiction also grows, takes place in the realm of actions. This, in turn, shows contradiction as human nature.
Singh furthermore explains how one of the most significant political philosophers, Thomas Hobbes viewed the principle of the universe, as made up of particles that move to a mechanical law. Accordingly, Hobbes did not perceive man as a social nor a political animal, but the perceived man as a microcosm and the essence of the universe. Man in this view is considered to be driven by his senses, such as memory and imagination are all derived from senses, meaning that every man is individual, thus every man becomes self-centered creature (Singh 1993, 256). Reasoning on the other hand is perceived as artificial and passions are perceived as natural. Man is therefore not by nature a reasonable creature and existing with other men will be difficult to satisfy a man’s desires. As a result man has a ‘conatus’, an instinct for conservation and an inclination to survive (Hobbes 2007). Men constantly seek honour and dignity, which leads to envy and hatred. As a result, man lives in perpetual confli...
... and fascism offered bold new approaches to modern politics. These ideologies maintained that democracy was effeminate and that it wasted precious time in building consensus among citizens. Totalitarian leaders’ military style made representative government and the democratic values of the United States, France, and Great Britain appear feeble- a sign that these societies were on the decline. Totalitarianism put democracies on the defensive as they aimed to restore prosperity while still upholding individual rights and the rule of law”(Hunt & Martin, 852).