What Comes After the End of History? with Francis Fukuyama (Part One)
Summary
In this Intelligence Squared episode, host Martin Wolf discusses Francis Fukuyama’s new memoir, *In the Realm of the Last Man*, at Union Chapel in London. They explore the crisis facing liberal democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, and Fukuyama’s intellectual evolution from neoconservatism. The conversation addresses the enduring relevance of his "End of History" thesis, the importance of state capacity, and the psychological drive for recognition that fuels modern political polarization.
Topics discussed
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Introduction: Francis Fukuyama and the End of History
Host Martin Wolf introduces the discussion and book
Why Fukuyama wrote this memoir and correcting the record
Identity: Being a Japanese American and birthright citizenship
The value of rational discourse and the Western tradition
Fukuyama's time in Paris and rejection of postmodernism
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Key mentors: Bloom, Huntington, and Lipset
Breaking with neoconservatism and the Iraq War
Explaining the End of History and the concept of Thumos
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