Central authority is strong, but it is bound by a transparent system of law and is subordinate to the will of the people. A successful liberal democracy, he argues, combines three essential elements in perfect balance, namely the state itself, the rule of law and accountability in government. The central question that troubles Fukuyama is why some nations behave like Denmark, but most do not. While this is only the first volume of two (ending on the eve of the French Revolution), it is nevertheless impressive to see such a huge and complicated topic covered in such an accessible and engaging fashion. He charts how states evolved, in the process explaining why, despite humans’ common origin in Africa perhaps 50,000 years ago, great political diversity exists today. In “ The Origins of Political Order,” his topic is the world, his starting point the chimpanzee. As he admits, he wants to revive a “lost tradition” when historians were big thinkers. Their ideas were big, and sometimes too were their mistakes.įrancis Fukuyama is at heart a Victorian. In the 19th century, men like Leopold von Ranke, George Macaulay Trevelyan and Frederick Jackson Turner used the past to try to understand the present. Specialists trade in abstractions, taking refuge in tiny foxholes of arcane knowledge. The history profession is today dominated by small minds studying small topics.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |