Years and years ago I threw a question in a political thread at a different forum, asking for some suggestions on readings in international politics. One of the brightest minds of the forum pointed me toward this book. At the time I read a few synopses and got the basic gist, but today when I was down-town book searching I ran into a copy and didn't hesitate to buy it. The core premise of the book is the idea that liberal democracy is the last phase of mankind's ideological evolution.
While I was down town this afternoon I stopped at a tea shop and read the introduction of the book to get a better feel for some of his ideas, and in his ideas he posits that mankind is driven by three forces: desire, reason, and recognition, recognition being the main one that causes a distinction between us and other animals (I think you could drive that idea deeper, but that's another thread). Fukuyama argues that the desire for recognition has caused the formation of many democracies that uphold basic human rights and dignity, among other things, basically societies that proclaim all of its citizens as equals under the law, at least on paper.
Anyway, I hear it's a revolutionary political work, and the book itself is quite a fantastic read. I definitely suggest picking it up.
While I was down town this afternoon I stopped at a tea shop and read the introduction of the book to get a better feel for some of his ideas, and in his ideas he posits that mankind is driven by three forces: desire, reason, and recognition, recognition being the main one that causes a distinction between us and other animals (I think you could drive that idea deeper, but that's another thread). Fukuyama argues that the desire for recognition has caused the formation of many democracies that uphold basic human rights and dignity, among other things, basically societies that proclaim all of its citizens as equals under the law, at least on paper.
Anyway, I hear it's a revolutionary political work, and the book itself is quite a fantastic read. I definitely suggest picking it up.