Fukuyama, Strauss, and Faith in Liberal Democracy

[MbahMu]

I love how zleensky is consistent with his casual/tacticool branding.

[F--B]

"A true-enough story told to an unphilosophical audience." Great line.

[jdzentrist]

Leisure, this morning, to hear the rest of the tape. Well, my mind is pretty well blown at this point. Like Foucault, Dr. Millerman just pulls the "rug" right out from under you--not saying it's a bad thing. Now I'm going to have to "go back to school, " so to speak, to figure all this out. Maybe a good place to start, the paper I presented in 1976, on Aristotle's "N. Ethics, " Book Five, Chapter Seven, which compares and contrasts "conventional justice" and "natural justice." It's all about "Deekay, " JUSTICE.

[OrwellsHousecat]

Brilliant, Thanks!
I don't have the capacity to digest the foundational texts so I appreciate your breakdown.

[donaldseekins]

This is a very interesting discussion of Blake Smith's article. I especially appreciate it because I am living in the ancestral homeland of Francis Fukuyama, Japan, which (to me) is an intellectual wasteland.🤨 Here, empty pragmatism reigns supreme!

However, neither Messers. Smith nor Millerman mentions what could be called the "Komodo Dragon in the room, " which is capitalism. Historically, capitalism has been the evil twin of liberal democracy as it evolved in Western Europe and North America. It was the chief motivation for American slavery. One of liberalism's greatest figures, Locke, argued for the coercive "ethnic cleansing" of indigenous Americans because they did not "own" or develop the land they lived on. Capitalism lay at the root of the aggressive colonization of Africa, Asia and Oceania in the 19th and early 20th centuries (see Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness"). Especially in East Asia, the Axis powers during WW2 sought little more than supplanting the older British, French and Dutch empires by the Japanese-run "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." Nissan cars, for example, were originally built by slave laborers in Manchuria, the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

The increasingly predatory nature of capitalism in Britain (since Margaret Thatcher) and the US (since Ronald Reagan) has plunged millions of history's supposed "winners, " middle class people, into misery. The white middle class may have thought that they were protected by liberal democracy, but predatory capitalism has disenfranchised them, marginalized them. The people they voted for have been bought and paid for, even "liberal" figures like Pelosi and Biden. Trump is not a cause but a symptom of America's social chaos.

In sum, no one can talk about politics or the end of history without acknowledging how monstrous capitalism has become.

[williamfarmer]

Thanks for this very thought-provoking video. Whatever the ultimate meaning of history may be, I don't think it consists in articulating and celebrating the virtues of liberal democracy, or any other political system. Perhaps three hundred years from now, touting the virtues of liberal democracy may seem as quaint as touting the virtues of divine right monarchy seems today.

[Plotinus]

Very interesting article. Thank you for the great insights/commentary along with it. Having recently become introduced to your work, I was wondering how you feel about the Traditionalist school in general?

[gabrielguitarman]

Sorry for being late, but this is an amazing video and a still relevant topic. From a voegelinian perspective, seems to me that Fukuyama´s problem lies in his hegelian historical perspective: history is set rolling before Hegel´s eyes, not God. This lays down Fukuyama´s liberal democracy mental cage, where he has to defend the marvels of an ideology while knowing that it´s indefensible in hegelian terms. Seems to me that an opening to, a participation (metaxy) with the transcendent is what is missing at all ideological sides, being it the liberal globalism plan - where it isn´t acceptable at all -, being it the Russian-Chinese dreams of the Eurasia - where religion appears just as a rhetorical weapon. The real history IS the history happening before God´s eyes and happening with His actions. Cheers from Brazil.

[jdzentrist]

After encountering interpretations like this, it is no wonder that Frank recently says, "I'm taking a break from writing for a while'!!! Plus, the whole notion that Fukuyama's two-volume "Origins" is "superficial, " is itself laughable, beneath contempt. It is boring, at least to me. That does not mean it is not immortal. Plato's work is often boring. It is none the less immortal, with certified membership in Nietzsche's "republic of geniuses." Now, I have a confession to make. I've been trying to learn about Foucault. The only book of his I have is "The Order of Things." Very off-putting, to me, very boring. Yet I'm intrigued by it, intend to try it again. Frank recently refers to "a number of brilliant books by Foucault, " meaning he has had more patience with this preeminent "postmodernist." Frank's method, so to speak, of "archeology, " in the "Origins" books, may owe something to someone he calls a kind of incipient "conspiracy theorist, " Michel Foucault! Thus, accordingly, our QAnon folks, "postmodernists" and arch-conservatives, owe something to the anarchist, Foucault who, in a 1981 interview seriously used the expression, "God willing" (he live long enough to develop new insights). Foucault died of AIDS in 1984.

[jdzentrist]

Bloomm came to our university shortly after Strauss died, said that Strauss had memorized "whole passages from Hegel." Bloom looked down his nose at "the bourgeoisie." I need to reread his great best-seller for its "Straussian" qualities. Bloom was Rousseauan in many ways, other than as a translator.... Indeed, Fukuyama's 2006 book, based partly on lectures given in 2005, comes fresh after the start of the Iraq War (3/2003). He speaks of his "former classmate, " Bill Kristol. Indeed, he breaks with his former "neocon" beliefs, thus agreeing with people like Chris Matthews, who voted for Bush 2, that the Iraq War was a terrible mistake. To me, the interesting thing about Fukuyama is his acknowledgment, something unheard of among our "elites, " of the greatness of China. He had been to China frequently, till Xi put in more restrictions (perhaps on him personally). His praise of ancient China is a thing of beauty (in one of those boring tomes). China, not Machiavelli, is the "founder" of Modernity (with its highly sophisticated ancient bureaucracies). As for Ukraine, Francis saw early on that it "was winning." Fukuyama, while agreeing with Tucker & Company on "stupid wars, " yet clearly drew a line on Ukraine. Thus he joins the so-called "hawk, " Joe Biden (not always "hawkish" in the past), who has been of enormous help, even if "not enough, " to Zelensky.

[bygabop]

19:04 My answer is no. I don’t think liberal democracy or any regime needs foundations. Popper got it right. Taking fallibilism seriously as a property of all sources of knowledge, all we’ve got is the rational aim to protect the institutions that enforce a strange set of traditions: the traditions of criticism. There is no known boundary to our potential for progress, other than the laws of physics.

[chhhhhris]

It would probably help to distinguish between universal "human-nature" as maybe biological or *_economic needs, _* healthcare, housing, education, food, water, etc. Or what is _necessary_ to produce-reproduce life, and live. Versus *_political-legal rights, _* so-called "human-rights", *_wants_* and desires, blah blah bourgeois equality (political voting equality, not economic equality), freedom of speech (but not to act), freedom of thought (but heavily influenced, biased and censored), etc. Soo what is "human-nature" ?

[ChucksExotics]

It's so strange that people actually like liberal democracy this much. What's to like about it? It hasn't done anything good so far.

[CornCod]

In a little article I wrote last year I opined that Fukiyama failed to understand the inscrutable workings of the Occidental mind.

[ozzy]

The problem is not the lack of human nature. It is with the concept of human rights, which are incompatible with majoritarian democracy.

[villevanttinen]

But if Ukraine wins so wins multiculturalism (liberal democracy) and thus superstition of " equal man" ?

[eriknielsen]

Millerman, move to a country that is not a liberal democracy and speak your mind. Or go to Russia and enlist. They need opponents of democracy.

Seriously, put some skin in the game.

[mrofficial]

What a bunch of gibberish, these philistines make me appreciate Julius Evola even more (even if he was antagonistic to the jews) (no one is perfect)

[sanzalure]

« Liberal democracy is the best form of government »

Compared to what ?

They compare to the present and the past, but completely ignore the future! Some people in the past invented regimes that fit their needs, we can do it too. We can do much better than anything we have now or have had in the past.

The population is sovereign. The population can choose the regime it wants, whether or not some intellectuals consider it a valid choice. The common ground uniting human beings is that we are all « mortals ». All other considerations are simply trivial mind games. Besides, at the most fundamental level of reality, we are all made of quantum foam. Which makes all other differences irrelevant.

Also « Liberal democracy » did not prevent the Deep State from infiltrating all levels of government in order for oligarchs to completely circumvent democracy. So this infamous « Liberal Democracy » is neither Liberal nor Democratic. To save democracy on this planet, we have to help Russia, not Ukraine.

« The end of history ». It reminds me when, just after Newton and Darwin, the scientific community declared that Science was almost complete, that Science had explained everything there was to know about the universe. Then Einstein, Bohr and a few others came along to demonstrate that we have many more questions than answers about the universe.

Human beings have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and have survived far worse conditions than what we are facing now. History is likely to continue for millions of years. So Fukuyama's theory about the « End of history » is beyond ridiculous IMHO.

« Only a strong state... » this is a baseless assumption. I think we could go a long way with simply a better « Social contract ». At this point in time, the social contract between the top and the bottom of society has been broken by the top part. It used to be that the bottom supported the top in exchange for protection. The top stopped protecting the bottom a long while ago, so the bottom is relieved from its contractual obligation to support the top.

Humanity would be better off with a strong and decentralized population instead of a strong and centralized State.

[KRGruner]

An understanding of "Human Nature" is necessary but not sufficient. What is needed is a return to the normative concept of Natural Law, of which human nature is only one constituent (albeit a very important one). Beyond that, this entire video, while quite interesting, is typical of contemporary political commentary in its failure to address the real issues (in particular the fact that "liberalism" in America is not such thing, with the conservatives being the ACTUAL liberals - they are trying to conserve liberal ideals while the "liberals" are trying, actively, to destroy them through their obsession with equality of end results). Until people figure this out, there is no hope. Liberal "democracy" (actually liberal republic) is indeed the only hope for mankind (if it wants peace and prosperity), but it has to be properly understood. Which this channel does not.