Francis Fukuyama: Liberalism and Its Discontents

When noted political scientist Francis Fukuyama predicted the "end of history," it seemed that the Western form of traditional classical liberalism and democracy-rule of law, equal treatment, individualism, and political freedom-was on the march in countries around the world, and that a new political order would be established around the globe. However, as the Russian attack on Ukraine shows, the battle between autocracy and classic liberalism will continue to shape global relations in the present and the future, and as history it will tell the story of this complicated period in world history.
In his latest book Liberalism and Its Discontents, Fukuyama explains the troubled history of the American realization of classical liberalism here in the United States, and the challenges from both sides of the political spectrum arising in recent decades. With the right demanding economic freedom above all else, and the left making its core ideal the elevation of identity above the universality of humanity, Fukuyama argues that both approaches miss the mark in grasping classical liberalism, and the consequences can be disastrous both at home and around the world.
At this critical time, Fukuyama proposes a bold new defense of classical liberalism, and explains that failing to do so will continue to fragment America’s civil society, and will influence global pushback on democracy itself.
Join us as Fukuyama engages in a critical and timely discussion on classical liberalism, why it remains one of the most influential political ideologies of the past millennium, and why battles around it will determine the path of the 21st century for the United States and the world.
This program is presented in collaboration with the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future
and is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund.
Speakers
Francis Fukuyama
Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Author, Liberalism and Its Discontents; Twitter @FukuyamaFrancis
Tim Miller
Founder, Light Fuse Communications; Contributor, The Bulwark; Communications Director, Jeb Bush 2016; Author, Why We Did It (Forthcoming); Twitter @timodc-Moderator
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[@lesilluminations1]

Outstanding. We need more of this.

[@thiamhuatang1070]

Singapore has General Elections. You can start a political party quite easily if you want to contest for political power. Accuracy is important.

[@cvisuali]

Excellent vigilance and sacrifice again for liberalism and democracy

[@patrickvernon4766]

He’s just a liberal. He doesn’t believe in democracy

[@theeducationist9317]

Death of creativity. We get millions of views on tiktok vidz but , just 800 views in 11 days on such an informative video. 😥

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

Agreed, but that's nothing new. People have always consumed much more trashy pop culture than high culture.

[@user-do7iu4xo1q]

Ummm, the fact that our own precious Mitsotakis is not listed among Orban/Erdo etc has to be attributed to purely the time gap (give him bit of time, still young) and the inability of local news to exceed their in-built introversion + some generous and frequent SLAPPS (not even sure my comment will make it TBH)

[@treecareman9128]

Wow. The interviewer only wants to talk about the right wing threat 😂 Fukuyama tries to note the left threat several times, but the interviewer brushes it away so quickly!

[@mrmr3343]

Did you watch the entire program? That is now what happened.

[@treecareman9128]

@@mrmr3343 I did. And it is what happened

[@daledouglas5900]

Are the threats symmetric? As far as I know, only one side fomented an insurrection resulting in 5 dead, the goal of which was preventing the peaceful transition of power.

[@treecareman9128]

@@daledouglas5900 as Fukuyama said the left is a slow moving threat. Right is always very visible

[@MG-ye1hu]

Francis Fukuyama is a brillant analyst and I completely agree with his assessments. But I think it is an illusion that you can somehow "fix" liberalism. Like all paradigms it is its fate to run its course. Liberalism and democracy will end, not because people made mistakes but because this is the course of nature. All forces are only productive for a certain time and then collaps by an overstretch. I'm surprised again and again about the illusions that many people, including Mr Fukuyama, have about Ukraine. The current symphathy (that I share to some extent) leads to an idealistic picture, that they are a liberal democracy just like us. That's not the reality. Like all eastern ex sowjet countries, including Poland and Hungary, they lean much more to autoritarian structures. What led to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was not least the imposing of supressive policies against the russian minority in Ukraine, the sheer opposite of liberalism. I'm on the Ukrainian's side in this conflict but it is not as black and white as so many imply.

[@romanroman1850]

more concentrated bulk of bullshit is simply impossible to construct. the question is only it is the author's own phantasy or written for a third party?

[@MG-ye1hu]

@@romanroman1850 With your name, you should very well know that the roman republic is one of the prime examples that democracies eventually die.

[@romanroman1850]

@@MG-ye1hu right but we here are still not even rightly born))

[@o6sb]

Ukraine is not ex soviet county. It is the county that re-established its independence after the centuries of russian and soviet colonialism. The country was forcefully russificated for several generations which lead to the situation in 2010s that it's Ukrainian language and not rus needed protection and quotas. Now new generation strated going back to the origin and stepping away from the colonial heritage. Calling it "oppression of 'russian' minority" (most of who is in fact forcefully russified Ukrainian folk) is the manipulation from Kremlin narrative, justifying the illegal act of aggression towards the independent country. So please give up these narratives if you don't want to come across as a supporter of Russian terrorism. Regarding the 'natural leaning towards authoritarianism ' sorry you call it "natural" based on which premises? Read about Ukrainian Cossacks epoch and the way how the Hetman (ruler) was elected to see what these people naturally are leaning towards. And be sure that the democratic values as well as the sense of liberty is natural for these people ever since.

[@MG-ye1hu]

@@o6sb I'm very sceptical about this kind of historic narratives, whether they come from Putin or from Ukrainians. They are almost always constructed idealisations. And just look around in eastern Europe. Between Poland and Russia there are authoritarian leaders all over the place, including most of Ukraine's previous leaders. I don't buy that Ukraine just switched to being a liberal country over night.

[@JaKommenterar]

Fukuyama is not entirely honest here - he was a strong supporter of the Iraq War and a defender of it until ca 2005

[@jdzentrist8711]

I recently watched a You Tube w/ Fukuyama, Dugin and "Ivan," a Bulgarian author of "Democracy Disrupted." It was from about seven years ago. Dugin implied or said that Francis was a racist--because...I forget now why, but probably because of the way he defends liberalism. I thought to myself, Dugin here is projecting his own racism, a classic case of PROJECTION. Anyway, few if any elites have the issue I have w/ liberalism, in its American reality--its utter incompetence at public safety and public order. The elites, who are well off, don't have to worry that much about this inconvenient truth. But it is getting closer to home. Go to the grocery store; go for a drive in the city or certain suburbs; go on a road trip and stop at a Wendy's. The vibe out here is something you can feel, and it's getting worse, obviously. I watch CGTN regularly; and I notice that other relatively humane societies do NOT have the violence we have, not the exponential numbers we have. Most civil societies around the world have some sane levels of public safety and public order. How many murders have we had thus far in 2022? As Mollie Hemingway said on TV recently, "There is a moral rot in our society." As a whole, our society is in denial about this moral rot. The black-on-black crime in this country is THE CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE OF OUR TIME. It is mostly ignored. It has gotten so bad, I've come to believe our American system, yes, "liberal democracy," is flawed, unwholesome, and unconducive to a decent way of life. Granted that China has its own "civil rights" issues, when it comes to decent levels of public safety and public order, China in the East and many other countries around the world are far superior to our own country, where there is "something rotten." It goes much deeper than our insane lack of reasonable gun laws. The radical individualism that is mentioned here by Fukuyama is extremely problematic, in my view. This radical individualism derives, does it not, from "liberal democracy." On the level of theory, I'm in favor of a "mean" between moral relativism and moral absolutism. As for whom I plan to vote for, I'd decided, as an Independent, I cannot vote for progressives, for far-left leaning policies. Now, in light of this daily worsening American violence, I cannot vote for ANY Republican. In 2020, I wrote in Dennis Kucinich, for his moderate, as opposed to hawkish, foreign affairs position. I've read Fukuyama's "America at the Crossroads," and I'm for this mindset. As for Ukraine, I'm with Kissinger, not Soros.

[@o6sb]

Kissinger has no idea about Ukraine. Same with Soros. But if this dualism is your actual understanding of the ongoing war, I have bad news for you. You know nothing so please continue to judge American business only, it seems like your field . Otherwise you fall into the trap of supporting russian terrorism and attack on the independent state.

[@zenster1097]

Ohhh my comment deleted. LMAO.

[@matthiasmuller7677]

What a cringe show

[@a46475]

Indeed

[@iri8973]

US nuclear bomb on Japan left interesting influence in head of this person.