02/19/10 Paris, France – Poor Francis Fukayama.
In 1992, he looked at what communism had wrought and proclaimed “the end of history.” The commies had capitulated. The Berlin Wall had come down. Even the ‘red’ Chinese had turned a shade of maroon or mauve.
It seemed like history had come to an end…with the indisputable triumph of US-style democracy.
He wasn’t the first to think history had come to a halt. Hegel and the early Marxists were convinced that the last chapter was the one in which the proletariat took command of the government – which they supposedly did after the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia.
But the trouble with history is that it just keeps rolling along. Since 1992, we’ve probably seen as much history as in any other 18-year stretch…save perhaps the war years of the last century. There was the communications revolution…the rise of the Internet…the dot.com bubble…9/11…the bubble in residential real estate…the Iraq War… the “Great Recession”…the banking crisis…the rise of China…
Even the things that Fukayama cited as proof that history had come to an end have made history. The former soviet republics – Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgystan – did not progress towards the perfection of liberal democracy. All have retrogressed into various forms of autocracy, petro-nationalism…and authoritarian centralism.
What lessons does Fukayama take from this? How about the obvious one: that he was a fool…and that history doesn’t come to a stop just because an American intellectual can’t imagine it going forward?
Nope.
“As we move forward, it is the important to keep in mind the simple power of the idea of a government by, for, and of the people. We need to match those high ideals with unglamorous but steady investments in institution-building if liberal democracy is to deliver on its promises…”
What? What is wrong with these people…? David Brooks, Thomas Friedman, Francis Fukayama…here are people who are paid to have opinions, ideas, thoughts. Why can’t they come up with anything better than this sugary puff claptrap? His conclusion is as weak and empty as a congressman’s head…with not a single, solid idea in it.
Who is ‘we?’ Who knows? And what is the promise of democracy? We never knew it made any promises to anyone. People use democratic governments just like they use any other form of government – that is, like a thief uses a crowbar…to try to get something. Otherwise, why would the democrat bother to vote? The cripple expects someone to pay for his wheelchair. The imperialist wants someone to pay for his foreign wars. The social worker wants one of her métier stationed in every schoolroom and household – ready to make sure every adult wears his seatbelt and every child is treated with Ritalin.
Democracy starts off well enough. In small units it even works passably well. A town meeting is a fairly decent forum for discussing where to locate the new dump. But as it grows bigger and older the town meeting inevitably degrades until it is dominated by mobs, lobbyists and lunkheads.
Even if we believed democracy was the final and most perfect form of government we would still have no idea what Fukayama is talking about when he mentions investing in “institution-building.” You have a suspicion that he doesn’t know what he is talking about either.
He doesn’t say so, but we imagine he means American-style institutions in foreign countries…as if that were possible. The US Congress, for example?
We rest our case.
Enjoy your weekend,
Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning
Bill Bonner
Since founding Agora Inc. in 1979, Bill Bonner has found success and garnered camaraderie in numerous communities and industries. A man of many talents, his entrepreneurial savvy, unique writings, philanthropic undertakings, and preservationist activities have all been recognized and awarded by some of America's most respected authorities. Along with Addison Wiggin, his friend and colleague, Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. Both works have been critically acclaimed internationally. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning. Dice Have No Memory: Big Bets & Bad Economics from Paris to the Pampas, the newest book from Bill Bonner, is the definitive compendium of Bill’s daily reckonings from more than a decade: 1999-2010.
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There’s a mistake in the main character’s name : it’s FukUyama. All the rest is absolutely true. Thanks for the 3(!) articles today, really enjoyed reading them all.
Good stuff
People use democratic governments just like they use any other form of government – that is, like a thief uses a crowbar…to try to get something.
Home-spun wisdom!
“His conclusion is as weak and empty as a congressman’s head…”
oh my goodness….i can imagine no condition more dire….to think that someone is as useless as barney frank or christopher dodd sends chills down my spine….especially when they are allowed to vote or speak…
Once a communist, always a communist. “Investments in institution-building” means building the government sector to move us towards the communists’ utopia.
At least the communists never export women. Never! Never ! in history. Once the capitalist took over, you see what is happening now. Who is the number one women exporter in the world now ? Human beings are termed as commodity ?
Section
The current world economic system is nothing other than “casino economy”. Governments on earth will devote its time in money printing.
Applying the American model, “entrepreneurs” will be given permit to operate their
casinos, lucky lottery draw, legalized sexual outlet and the related down stream industries. These smokeless industries need no high tech and they churn in large revenue
quickly and efficiently.
People especially those who are financially down will bet their way out in a casino. On a draw day, you will see long queue of people waiting for their turn to bet on their lucky numbers. For those gambling operators, they do not even need a small storeroom to save their stock. All they sell are virtually costless numbers. If an audit is in force, their profit margin is at least in check; else, it will be a computer adjustable draw – numbers
I tried repeatedly to post. It seemed that only “selected materials” can be posted. Come on be frank and open! Let people post what they have in mind. You can ignore if nonsense is posted.
It is not the problem with the word “useless”. It is simply not that simple that once given the right to vote and speak, it is considered a proven system. It really take time to sort things out.
Can I have a clear direction. The Show must go on??? But, your bible hinted doomsday, end of world. Which is which?
In actual fact. What is practised in China is totally capitalism. Since the 3rd generation grabbed control,capitalism was in full play. Apparently, Jiang looks more like a capitalist than a proletariat. An irreversible reaction. The train must go full steam ahead. Eventually, Mussolini will jump up 6 feet to change his slogan, “words are fine, women are finer”.
Out of your depth on Hegel, Bill. He had no such illusions about the proletariat. You are confusing him with Marx.
Re: David Brooks, Friedman sound so idiotic because they’re paid by the NYT, “The Newspaper of Record”
China (and India) didn’t sign on to the “Washington Consensus” re, Rubin, Summers, Greenspan eta all…and they are doing better than most considering where they came from and what happened to those who signed on to that horrible program, especially Latin America.
A cripple may be born; capitalist/imperialists are made from a bad recipe….
There are needs of society that do not coincide with the maniacal, short term desires of capital…they should be separated….
You’re right about Fukuwhatevertheheckhisname…he was an idiot….
“Democracy starts off well enough. In small units it even works passably well. A town meeting is a fairly decent forum for discussing where to locate the new dump. But as it grows bigger and older the town meeting inevitably degrades until it is dominated by mobs, lobbyists and lunkheads.”
Bill, I love reading your columns, and I don’t say that often, nor do I try commiserating with authors much, but this observation is noteworthy.
It’s good to keep in mind that free people aren’t democratic; they have little interest in government other than to take whatever steps necessary to make sure it doesn’t intrude too far into areas they prefer left private. Government is a necessary evil– it is, for example, a good idea to drive on the right side of the road in countries with that rule, and on the left in the others. We do this to avoid killing each other needlessly.
That’s about where government ends for a free citizen. We don’t spend lots of time in town meetings trying to get elected.
And therein lies the rub…
Without fear or favour. We need an answer, that simple, “Yes” or “No” only.
1) Was there a single women exported out of China during Mao’s or Teng era ?
2) Was Jiang practising capitalism, communism, marxism or whatever ? Is he a western protege ?
3) When was the exporting trade started ?
Hegel’s head was nevertheless filled with nothing but illusions. His thoughts were emptier than a congressman’s, and that’s obviously no mean feat.
Frau Edouard Devrient: “Do tell me, who is the stupid fellow sitting next to me?”
Felix Mendelssohn (behind his napkin): “The stupid fellow next to you is the philosopher Hegel.”
from Paul Johnson, The Birth of the Modern, HarperCollins, 1991, pp. 817-818