#cover t-r-transgender-revolt-there-is-no-end-of-history-2.png
#title There is no End of History
#author Transgender Revolt
#lang en
#pubdate 2024-07-21T22:05:25
#authors Transgender Revolt
#DELETED DELETED no source, submitted to wiki and not main website


** <strong>There is no End of History</strong>

In 1992 the political scientist Francis Fukuyama released his book <em>The End of History and the Last Man</em>. In his controversial book, Fukuyama declared Western liberal democracy to be the final form of human social organization. Fukuyama reached this conclusion by analyzing the events of the Cold War and seeing liberal democracy win out over the failure of Marxism. Fukuyama argued that no other system would triumph. He argued that any form of government to exist in the future would be a modification of liberal capitalist democracy.

Without reading <em>The End of History and the Last Man</em>, unconsciously, the average person is a Fukuyamaist. Many believe that liberal capitalist democracy is the ultimate form of human social organization. Many believe that the current society is fused to the laws of reality rather than being a historically contingent system. Envisioning a better world is seen as too “idealistic”. There is a cynical resignation to the current order despite the widespread recognition that it is deeply flawed and in decay.

If we put Fukuyama’s thesis to the test, is it true? What if the society that we live in is not inevitable? What if the world that we live in is deeply unnatural? What if another world is possible? What if we could strive for something much better? When you put the “end of history” narrative to the test, it is obvious Fukuyama is a charlatan and hack. The “end of history” narrative that many believe is not only deeply pernicious but completely unfounded. <strong>There is no End of History!</strong>

** <strong>Kill the Clock in your Head</strong>


The best word to describe the problem within the “end of history” myth is that it is “chronocentric”. Chronocentrism is a term coined by the sociologist Jib Fowles, defined as "the egotism that one's own generation is poised on the very cusp of history". When chronocentric thinking is discarded the astonishing possibilities for a better world are opened up.

The “end of history” myth can be attractive because humans unconsciously have a chronocentric perception of the world. It is difficult for the human brain to comprehend how minuscule the current moment is in the course of human history. Humanity, if it does not destroy itself due to nuclear war, could live for hundreds of thousands of more years. Many cannot comprehend that we are active, not passive agents in the course of shaping human history. The “End of History Myth” is a collective delusion that needs to be shattered.

Humans have lived for 300,000 years. States have existed for 5,500 years. Capitalism has existed for 500 years. We exist in a blip of human history. Assuming that the present moment is the ultimate culmination of history is like a fish assuming that its fishbowl is the universe. The only constant in history is change. The only sensible position to argue is that the world would look much different in the future than it does today. The end of history has been declared many times and has always been proven to be false. There is no such thing as an end to history; anybody who suggests that the current system is the final form of human social organization should not be taken seriously. <strong>Kill the clock in your head!</strong>

** <strong>Anthropology and Utopia</strong>


Anthropology is the antithesis of the “end of history” myth. Utilizing a scientific methodology, anthropology definitively proves other worlds are possible. It shows that many ideas shrugged off as “utopian” are grounded in evidence. Many believe that the world that exists is “natural”. An Anthropological perspective rips to shreds some of the most deeply held assumptions in politics.

Our current world is deeply unnatural. There have been times when democracy, corporations, borders, inequality, mass surveillance, the police, did not exist. It is irrational to assume that constructs, institutions, abstractions, and technologies that exist today will or should continue to exist. Many things in the past have been completely discredited: the divine right of kings, segregation, feudalism, the patriarchy to name a few. The existence of CEOs, presidents, or landlords is no more natural than the existence of emperors. It is reasonable to argue that institutions that exist today such as capitalism, and the state are likely to be discredited.

Anthropology shows that there are thousands of other ways. The ancient city of Teotihuacan, with a population of 120,000 in 200 CE, shows that large-scale societies can be remarkably egalitarian. Estimates put the work week of the Kalahari bushmen at 15 hours. Gift economies, such as those that appear in the Trobriand Islands of Papa New Guinea, illustrate living examples of communist economic arrangements. Stateless societies, such as the Zomia region in Southeast Asia, demonstrate that humans can live peacefully without governments. Hunter-gatherers live joyous lives without consumerism and Eurocentric notions of “progress”. Stateless societies, such as the Zomia region in Southeast Asia, demonstrate that humans don’t need governments. Those who say that another world isn’t possible are factually wrong. The overwhelming evidence of anthropology and archaeology suggests otherwise.

** <strong>Destination Anarchy</strong>



The “end of history” myth is not unique to Fukuyama. Most political philosophies are profoundly foolish because they imply an end goal to the vast duration of the human species. They do not discard the “end of history” myth but reinvent another “end of history” myth. Anarchism is the only political philosophy that rejects chronocentric thought. Rudolf Rocker states “I am an Anarchist not because I believe Anarchism is the final goal, but because there is no such thing as a final goal”.

Anarchists look at the totality of history and see the forest for the trees. For the Anarchist, the goal of humanity should be to strive towards the highest form of human freedom; In the words of Errico Malatesta “The subject is not whether we accomplish Anarchism today, tomorrow, or within ten centuries, but that we walk towards Anarchism today, tomorrow, and always”. All forms of domination may not be abolished in a single moment, but the constant pursuit of a world without oppression, hierarchy, genocide, war, inequality, hunger, misery, discrimination, poverty, and ecocide is the only sensible option. The alternative is to tolerate some forms of tyranny. Anarchy is the compass that points the direction that history should head towards. It is a direction and not an endgoal. To quote Emma Goldman "'What I believe is a process rather than a finality. Finalities are for gods and governments, not for the human intellect.".

The Anarchist struggle is to constantly smash all forms of domination, to step towards universal liberation, and to change everything. <strong>We are not at the end of history. We are at the very beginning of the new world.</strong>