Inevitable Evolution or Devolution?

I've just finished reading two interesting books about the near future.  The first is The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama and the second is We are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism  by John Derbyshire.  Both were great reads.  

Fukuyama argues that liberal democracy and capitalism are the inevitable result of societal evolution; the distilled form of human organization after thousands of years of selecting what works and rejecting what doesn’t. 

There can be no evolved theocracy or communism or feudal societies because the natural mechanisms underlying societies will eventually reject these as ineffective, and will naturally adopt the attributes of a liberal democracy with a market economy as these attributes are more effective.  As our societies approach the perfection of open societies and free markets, we are less likely, even unable, to return to more flawed methods of governance.  Hence, the end of history with history defined as change.

The good news, according to Fukuyama, is that this means liberal democracy isn't just for lucky Westerners and their friends, but for any society that manages to stay around long enough to learn from their mistakes.

Derbyshire, on the other hand, sees nothing but troubled times ahead.  Once a society has reached the liberal democracy stage with its literate populace, accumulated wealth, and freedom from starvation, various interest groups within that society inevitably exploit these very attributes for their own agendas -- agendas designed to rid society of injustice, inequalities, guilt, and  ignorance.  Pursuing these ends will be our undoing because the pursuit of human perfectibility through government means is not compatible with liberal democratic societies.  

Derbyshire is pessimistic because he doesn't think there is much we can do to counteract these forces.  The groups who want to apply force to correct human behavior are acting out of biological programming.  We are programmed to behave this way.  Conservatives, who might be a brake on these forces for devolution have instead bought into the hope and change and do-goodyness of the crusaders.  Nothing to be done about it except to guide our children into the elite ruling classes of government work and wait for the wheel to turn.

So much to think about! 

 

 

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[Louboutin Outlet]

I've just finished reading two interesting books about the near future.