History continues to lurch forward every day. We are all part of history, though much to some people's dismay, we don't all have the power to make or alter history. But historical forces continue to shape our world and as long as there are tensions and clashes between opposing sides, history will move forward.
In 1989, however, Francis Fukuyama declared that history has ended by which he meant that Western liberal democracy has conquered all other ideologies of the world.
Perhaps, it is the case that capitalism is the main mode of production today. However, looking at the situation of the world right now, there are factors that shape societies not just in economic terms but also in political and social aspects.
Fukuyama’s 1989 article contained notes of surprising melancholy. ‘The end of history will be a very sad time,’ he wrote. ‘The worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination and idealism will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands.’
For all the subsequent ridicule, Fukuyama’s original idea resonantly captures our era of fragmenting grand narratives and dissolving cultural movements. ‘In the post-historical period,’ he went on, ‘there will be neither art nor philosophy, just the perpetual caretaking of the museum of human history. I can feel in myself, and see in others around me, a powerful nostalgia for the time when history existed.’
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