Historicizing Fukuyama's "End Of History": A Critical Assessment

After the cold war,how to evaluate capitalist system and socialist system and their prospect or destiny is a practical problem of universal concern in Eastern and Western theoretical circle.Fukuyama put forward his theory of “the end of history” exactly in this context.Anyway,what exactly is his theory of “the end of history”? To be short,it is a statement of the best political system or form of government in the future—history will end with a victory of liberal democracy in the whole world.Although Fukuyama emphasized his theory of “the end of history” is a universal claim,it can only be a discourse with the essence of historicism.As a historical theory,it cannot get away from Popper's critique of historicism,and apart from this,it has another two major potential problems.From a vertical perspective,as the historical environment changes,the discourse of Fukuyama's end of history has encountered many questions from the empirical level,including American decline,the rise of China,and so on.From a horizontal perspective,the understanding of the end of history is not definite and unique.Therefore,Fukuyama's discourse still faces the challenges of other theoretical discourses,such as the theory of clash of civilizations,the end of man,and some Apocalyptic discourses.This article analyzes and examines Fukuyama's “end of history” in historical context,aiming at deepening the understanding of this theory,and help us no longer confine ourselves to Fukuyama's discourse——mostly a western thinking model,and look at the current world political situation and future direction.