End of history

The triumph of the West, of the Western idea, is evident in the total exhaustion of viable systematic alternatives to Western liberalism and What we may be witnessing is the end of history as such: that is the end point of humanity's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government. There are powerful reasons for believing that it is this ideal that will govern the material world in the long run, even though the complete application of liberalism has as yet only been achieved in the realm of ideas and consciousness.

The end of history will be a very sad time. The struggle for recognition, the willingness to risk one's life for a purely abstract goal, the worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands. In the post-historical period there will be neither art nor philosophy, just the perpetual caretaking of the museum of history.

Far from ending, cultural conflict is erupting along civilizational fault lines. Tribalism was increasing. Ancient hatreds are rising to the surface. Culture is the preeminent force of conflict in the modern world. Politics, economics, ideology and national interests remain important, but culture trumps everything. Culture is bone deep, essential to a person's identity, and transcends national boundaries.