Saturday, July 8, 2006

Francis Fukuyama, After The NeoCons

Francis Fukuyama is the last person on earth that I thought I would enjoy reading. The title of his famous book The End of History and the Last Man seemed a bit too gimmicky for my liking. Of course a book with that kind of title is going to attract attention. Plus the fact that it was such a buzz word around intellectual circles. I presumed his writings would be lots of triumphalist banter.

Lo and behold, I think he’s a totally amazing writer. Let’s put aside content for the moment. Just his writing style is so fabulous. It’s crystal clear. He can distill complex information and make it readable and interesting. This makes him a top notch writer.

This book announces Fukuyama’s apostasy from the neocon movement. They have gone way too far into not only the right wing, but into the downright crazy. Enough is enough. He’s quitting the cause.

Fukuyama gives an short history of the neocons – they were originally a left wing movement that moved to the right. Many will find this of interest. Then he goes into all the problems with the present neocon crowd that have captured the American President’s heart. Number one problem must be of course Donald Rumsfeld.

The book finishes up with a prescription for change. That is basically a call for a more moderate mixture of UN and other world bodies, rather than relying on the UN alone.

Take heart people on the so-called left who are sick of Bush and his cronies and supporters. Another of their ilk is defecting and it cannot be long before the whole edifice comes crashing down.

An enjoyable read.

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