Least Serious Competitor To Liberal Democracy example essay topic

THE PRIMACY OF CULTURE By Francis Fukuyama Democracy's Future -Francis Fukuyama argues that for any new ideology or political trend to emerge that rival those of liberal democracy, it requires the precursor of developments at the level of civic society and culture. Accordingly, he sees the only civic society, and culture that seems poised to do so is Asia. Fukuyama bases his judgment on the claim that for the consolidation of democracy, there must exist four levels of change: On the first level is Ideology, followed by Institutions, then Civil Society, and finally, Culture. At the level of ideological change, believes about the merits and demerits of democracy and its encumber ent market structure, must first be rationalized. Thus, democracy is legitimized. Among the four elements, ideology is the most volatile, as change can occur practically overnight.

However although ideology may change it does not guarantee the consolidation of democracy. As ideology changes, institutions that are compatible to and necessary to execute the mandates of the newly adopted ideals are set in place. These may include constitutions, legal systems, party systems, and market structures et al. Although institutional change are manipulate able by public policy, its change is not as swift as ideological change. Civil Society flourishes out of the existence of democratic political ideals. They however are less manipulated by public policy, and tend to be spontaneously created.

Civic Society also develops more where there is less state control, and less where there is an exercise of more state power. For there to be strong civil society, there must first be a good cultural foundation of support. Fukuyama correctly views culture as the deepest level of these four precursors to consolidating democracy. He defines culture as "a-rational ethical habit passed on through tradition". Containing family structures, religion, moral values, ethic consciousness, civic-ness, and historical traditions. What does all this mean?

For democratic transition to occur, ideology must change to one of accepting democracy as good and viable. Institutions will also change to accommodate the new democratic ideals; ideals which in turn create an environment that fosters civic society; however it is culture, the most resilient to change, that ultimately affects civil society, which in turn is needed for democratic institutions to work. Thus, Fukuyama infers that cultural stability is key to ideological stability, and thus where there exist a strong cultural identity such as exist in the "paternalistic Asian authoritarianism" system, there exists a possible rival to liberal democracy. Competitors To Democracy The second section of this essay addresses the competitors to liberal democracy.

Fukuyama names four serious contenders to liberal democracy. These are: Asian authoritarianism, extreme nationalism or fascism, Islam, and a revived neo-Bolshevism. The author goes on to explain that each of these alternatives has problems as a worldwide ideological movement, and points out that they all have problems integrating into the increasingly technological global economy. Delving into the individual ideologies, the author explains the case of Fascism using Serbia as an example of an extreme nationalist state, and accredits the problems of these types of societies to their tendency to emphasize ethnic security. This emphasis causes conflict and war and destroys the country's economy, which is the modern basis of power. He then explains that there is evidence that this conflict is a short-term threat to a democracy, and that it is part of a transition period.

Moving to Islamic fundamentalism, Fukuyama points out that it's wave has not receded among nations in the Middle East, however there is great amounts of discontent in these countries. He states that while some of them have inherited natural resource wealth, such as mining products and oil, their social problems often go unresolved. He calls neo-Bolshevism, or renewed communism, the least serious competitor to liberal democracy. This belief is primarily due to the fact that groups practicing communistic types of ideologies in the former communist world have not done much else but slow down their area's transition to now dominant capitalism. These individuals apparently attain their power through old-school supporters who were communist-elite, and have stakes in the communist system.

While these ideologies lack global appeal, Fukuyama leaves open the possibility that one or more of them might continue to expand within their respective areas or "regional spheres" as he calls them. With all three of these ideologies discredited in some way or another, Fukuyama goes on to present Asian paternalistic authoritarianism as the most serious contender to liberal democracy in the realm of global ideologies. He starts by recognizing the obvious drawback; Asian authoritarianism is also a regional phenomenon. He then immediately proceeds to list the accolades of this ideology, beginning with the fact that it has forced Westerners to confront flaws and weaknesses in their societies, something that he says none of the other contenders have done. Apparently, Asians are also the only ones to master the technological world, and create capitalistic societies that are competitive if not better than those in the West. While these views show reveal an evident, yet acute amount of bias, there is a great amount of truth in them.

The most interesting and perhaps intriguing portion of this section lies in Fukuyama's depiction of Asian ideology's construction of social order. He states that western societies begin from an ideological level, then move to institutions, then to civil society, and finally to culture. On the other hand, Asian societies develop in an opposing order, beginning with a culture of strong moral education, which then leaves civil society, institutions, and ideology as interchangeable elements depending on the needs of the society. This causes a misinterpretation of the Asian alternative due to the tendency of Westerners to classify a social system based on its institutional arrangements. Civil Society In Asia and America Francis Fukuyama reiterates that in Asian religions there is no concept of individual rights. Confucianism states that people are born not with rights but with duties to the hierarchically arranged authorities, beginning with the family, then the state, and finally the emperor.

It emphasizes adherence to good moral values, ethnic consciousness, strong state and political authority, education and self-cultivation. These beliefs do not as such present barriers to the development of democracy, but rather enhances the functioning of society. Liberal democracy allows for pure individualism, yet permitting some to cooperate in a somewhat interdependent, specialized society that makes everyone richer. Former prime minister Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore, believes that the emphasis on broad moral education is a guarantee that basic social structures do work in Asian societies.

Taiwan and Korea in the last decade have made concerted efforts to advance with democracy without the loss of their traditional religious beliefs. The hallmark of U.S. liberal democracy is constitutionalism, the meeting of America's political values and political institutions. But democracy is also A) " An institutional mechanism for political competition for political leadership. B) Regular free and fair election so that the possibility for the peaceful transfer of power could occur in any election. C) Political and social pluralism to allow the existence of political oppositions and dissidents to disagree with government". Kuo H suing Lee.

It must be noted, that Japan's modernization was achieved through the nationwide campaign for de-Confucian ization and pro-Westernization. This included the repression of human creativity and social diversity, moral disdain of commerce and industry, and the rigidity of social stratification. Some suggest, that it was the introduction of the capitalist economic system that made people work against time. They became obsessed with punctuality and labor discipline. Asian governments have seen as deterrents, the problems inherent in American society- violent crime, drugs, racial tensions, poverty, and single parenting. Here Kwan Yew is adamant in his view that " liberal, rights-based institutions have a corrosive effect on civil society and culture, and that democracy eventually leads to the breakdown of the social fabric".

Author Fukuyama posits that 'liberalism based on individual rights is quite compatible with strong, communitarian social structures and disciplined cultural habits. He suggests that it is only in the last 50 years that individualism has taken preeminence over community. In conclusion, one must acknowledge that cultural factors do affect economic activities. However, it must be noted, that values vary from country to country in Asia. For example, kinship ties in Japan are weaker than those in southern China, and Confucianism is interpreted very differently in Japan than it is in Korea. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all have functioning democracies, and were the first to be industrialized.

Singapore and Hong Kong have higher per capita incomes but are not democratic. The determining factors to influence the growth of democracy in Asia will be cultural issues and not ideologies.