The End of History
Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist and politician who is best known for his role as the 43rd and final President of the United States. Fukuyama was born to Japanese parents in Chicago, Illinois and studied at various prestigious universities amidst the turmoil of the Cold War. Fukuyama gravitated to the so-called 'neoconservative' movement during his time in college-that is he supported both conservative stances on economics and foreign policy, but moderation on social issues and the restoration of democratic government rather than the 'emergency rule' by generals that had persisted since the 1958 coup against President Stevenson. The neoconservatives, framing themselves as a 'loyal opposition' as opposed to the 'traitors' that left-wing anti-government groups were labeled as, were the most successful pressure group against the Walker and LeMay administrations. Ultimately, the triumph of Alexander Haig in the contest to succeed LeMay paved the way for the partial restoration of democracy. Fukuyama would be among the neoconservatives who formed the American Liberty Party which contested the 1984 presidential elections. However, the ALP nominee Donald Rumsfeld was defeated by the National Front candidate Larry MacDonald.
However, MacDonald's incompetence would allow for the ALP to regain ground and triumph in 1988 under the leadership of George HW Bush, who made Fukuyama his Secretary of State. However, by the time Bush took office, it was becoming increasingly clear the American political system was not doing so well. Despite being illegal, labor strikes, civil rights protests and other acts of resistance to the American government were becoming increasingly common. Drug use and crime rates were both skyrocketing as Bush entered the Oval Office. Meanwhile, living standards in the Soviet Union and its allies across Eurasia were visibly improving and Soviet prestige was overtaking America's as the USSR landed on Mars in 1991. Socialist revolts in Latin America were gaining traction and threatening to oust US-aligned governments in the region. The US allies of South Africa and Rhodesia outright saw their governments collapse amidst revolt. Within the American government, there was considerable debate about what to do about this issue. The National Front and the right wing of the ALP favored harsh measures to crack down on domestic unrest and tackling major social problems via increased militarization of society. They blamed the ills afflicting America on communist subversion and felt strong enough measures could reverse American decline.
On the other hand, Fukuyama and fellow 'compassionate conservatives' had a different solution. They traced the issues of American decline back to the insistence on pure capitalism and the erosion of the New Deal that had been implemented under Franklin Roosevelt, as well as some of the earlier progressive reforms of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Furthermore, Fukuyama and his allies argued, the suppression of leftist, libertarian and anti-racist groups in America had not in fact dealt with the increase in anti-government sentiment, but actually served to increase it and make it more violent. The compassionate conservatives thus held that major political and economic reforms would be needed to ensure America's revival and the restoration of prosperity. The clash between these 2 visions would be seen during the ALP primaries of 1996, where Fukuyama faced off against the right-ALP candidates Wesley Clark, Antonin Scalia and John Tower. Despite fierce attacks (including some race-baiting towards Fukuyama), he managed to triumph in the primary and secured the endorsement of Bush in the general election, where Fukuyama managed to dispatch the National Front ticket of Pat Buchanan and Evan Mecham. Fukuyama, upon taking office, famously declared that 'America is at a crossroads' and that it had to choose the right road to secure its long-term future.
Fukuyama's reforms began almost immediately. He began with a series of over 4 dozen pardons for high-profile political prisoners, including major enemies of the US government such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Harold Stassen, Ted Kennedy and Noam Chomsky. He next unveiled his 'Contract With America,' a series of major economic reforms that sought to place limits on the size of major corporations and limit their influence, restored the right of labor unions to organize and be recognized by the government and brought back governmental pension programs that had been abolished during the Walker years. He additionally took things a step further by implementing a government-backed healthcare program and implementing civil rights programs. In 1998, Fukuyama shocked observers by declaring that 8 banned political parties would have their bans lifted and be permitted to run in elections in that midterm cycle so long as all candidates signed a statement renouncing violence and affirming the legitimacy of the American federal government. Fukuyama's reforms were criticized by his right-wing opponents and the rightmost wing of the ALP would defect en masse to the National Front shortly before the midterms. However, Fukuyama's reforms were extraordinarily popular with American youth and the public as a whole. Fukuyama's foreign policy was likewise rather popular and he sought to pursue negotiation and nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union and China.
By the early 2000's, it seemed that Fukuyama had succeeded in his reform efforts and secured America's continued existence. However, a series of events from 2001 to 2003 would ultimately cause things to unravel. First was the 2001 May Day protests organized by American leftist groups. While Fukuyama supported the rights of these groups to assemble, in over a dozen states the National Guard cracked down on the protests, killing 38 and injuring over a hundred. Fukuyama's efforts to balance the demand for justice from the public and the reluctance of even those within his government to punish the perpetrators. Ultimately, only one governor (David Duke of Louisiana) was forced to leave office and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The next controversy to erupt came when the Mexican guerilla leader Rafael Sebastian Guillien Vincente (commonly known as Subcommandante Marcos) seized control of Mexico City with his forces. Members of the American government demanded Fukuyama send troops to restore the US-aligned regime of Francisco Labastida, but much of the public opposed an American intervention in Mexico. Fukuyama ultimately elected not to deploy troops. This caused major discontent among hardliners and in early 2002 a group of three generals (Michael Flynn, David Petraeus and Robert Gates) organized a coup against Fukuyama. The coup initially successfully trapped Fukuyama within his New York residence while Flynn declared himself acting president. However, before the military's hold on power could be solidified and Fukuyama disposed of, mass protests erupted across the nation.
These protesters were a varied lot-compassionate conservatives and communists, liberals and Luddites, members of all races and religions. What united them was the simple demand of 'Free Fukuyama!' Efforts by state governments to crush them failed as elements of the police and armed forces defected. The period (later dubbed the 'Messy March' by historians) ultimately would see General James Mattis lead a group of Fukuyama loyalist forces on the White House, capturing Flynn after a brief exchange of gunfire. The troops holding Fukuyama under house arrest were compelled to release the president and Fukuyama returned to power. However, he would face the fact much of his power had been shaken as a result of this attempted coup. Fukuyama's return to power was characterized by an initial optimism, but that would be crushed by the final blow: a pandemic. The plague, dubbed the swine flu despite technically not being an influenze strain, emerged in the American southwest before spreading thanks in large part due to the state government of Arizona's failure to notice it until it was too late. By the time the outbreak was noticed, it was a national crisis. Fukuyama initially attempted to coordinate a national quarantine, but ultimately the bulk of the pandemic response would be left up to the individual states thanks to the increasing paranoia of Fukuyama causing mass inefficiency at a federal level. Various states formed regional pacts to combat the virus and much of the country began to complain the national government had failed to handle the outbreak. Ultimately, the outbreak would burn itself out by the beginning of 2003, but by this point Fukuyama's reputation was in tatters and political radicalism was on the rise.
Fukuyama ultimately did realize this. He moved his State of the Union address ahead to late January to address the situation During that address, Fukuyama declared that the US as it had existed had de facto become a failed state. As a result, he was going to sign an executive order abolishing the totality of the federal government, with each interstate bloc becoming (at least temporarily) their own country, free to pursue their own destiny. Fukuyama's order went into effect on February 3rd, which is the day he officially ceased to be the president. However, Fukuyama remained in Washington DC and the White House for several months afterwards, helping negotiate what was to become of American governmental infrastructure, military equipment, former US currency and the national debt. The process of devolving power and managing disputes as some states sought to separate from the blocs they had formed the previous year took 5 years, at which point the post-US North America had finally taken shape. Fukuyama would, after this, become a college professor, something he had said was what he had previously hoped to become before entering politics. As an academic post-politics, Fukuyama notably contributed the 'end of history' hypothesis, citing that given most US successor states have adopted some form of socialism and the ongoing crisis of climate change generally being blamed on capitalist modes of production, the triumph of socialism over the world is now almost inevitable.
Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist and politician who is best known for his role as the 43rd and final President of the United States. Fukuyama was born to Japanese parents in Chicago, Illinois and studied at various prestigious universities amidst the turmoil of the Cold War. Fukuyama gravitated to the so-called 'neoconservative' movement during his time in college-that is he supported both conservative stances on economics and foreign policy, but moderation on social issues and the restoration of democratic government rather than the 'emergency rule' by generals that had persisted since the 1958 coup against President Stevenson. The neoconservatives, framing themselves as a 'loyal opposition' as opposed to the 'traitors' that left-wing anti-government groups were labeled as, were the most successful pressure group against the Walker and LeMay administrations. Ultimately, the triumph of Alexander Haig in the contest to succeed LeMay paved the way for the partial restoration of democracy. Fukuyama would be among the neoconservatives who formed the American Liberty Party which contested the 1984 presidential elections. However, the ALP nominee Donald Rumsfeld was defeated by the National Front candidate Larry MacDonald.
However, MacDonald's incompetence would allow for the ALP to regain ground and triumph in 1988 under the leadership of George HW Bush, who made Fukuyama his Secretary of State. However, by the time Bush took office, it was becoming increasingly clear the American political system was not doing so well. Despite being illegal, labor strikes, civil rights protests and other acts of resistance to the American government were becoming increasingly common. Drug use and crime rates were both skyrocketing as Bush entered the Oval Office. Meanwhile, living standards in the Soviet Union and its allies across Eurasia were visibly improving and Soviet prestige was overtaking America's as the USSR landed on Mars in 1991. Socialist revolts in Latin America were gaining traction and threatening to oust US-aligned governments in the region. The US allies of South Africa and Rhodesia outright saw their governments collapse amidst revolt. Within the American government, there was considerable debate about what to do about this issue. The National Front and the right wing of the ALP favored harsh measures to crack down on domestic unrest and tackling major social problems via increased militarization of society. They blamed the ills afflicting America on communist subversion and felt strong enough measures could reverse American decline.
On the other hand, Fukuyama and fellow 'compassionate conservatives' had a different solution. They traced the issues of American decline back to the insistence on pure capitalism and the erosion of the New Deal that had been implemented under Franklin Roosevelt, as well as some of the earlier progressive reforms of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Furthermore, Fukuyama and his allies argued, the suppression of leftist, libertarian and anti-racist groups in America had not in fact dealt with the increase in anti-government sentiment, but actually served to increase it and make it more violent. The compassionate conservatives thus held that major political and economic reforms would be needed to ensure America's revival and the restoration of prosperity. The clash between these 2 visions would be seen during the ALP primaries of 1996, where Fukuyama faced off against the right-ALP candidates Wesley Clark, Antonin Scalia and John Tower. Despite fierce attacks (including some race-baiting towards Fukuyama), he managed to triumph in the primary and secured the endorsement of Bush in the general election, where Fukuyama managed to dispatch the National Front ticket of Pat Buchanan and Evan Mecham. Fukuyama, upon taking office, famously declared that 'America is at a crossroads' and that it had to choose the right road to secure its long-term future.
Fukuyama's reforms began almost immediately. He began with a series of over 4 dozen pardons for high-profile political prisoners, including major enemies of the US government such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Harold Stassen, Ted Kennedy and Noam Chomsky. He next unveiled his 'Contract With America,' a series of major economic reforms that sought to place limits on the size of major corporations and limit their influence, restored the right of labor unions to organize and be recognized by the government and brought back governmental pension programs that had been abolished during the Walker years. He additionally took things a step further by implementing a government-backed healthcare program and implementing civil rights programs. In 1998, Fukuyama shocked observers by declaring that 8 banned political parties would have their bans lifted and be permitted to run in elections in that midterm cycle so long as all candidates signed a statement renouncing violence and affirming the legitimacy of the American federal government. Fukuyama's reforms were criticized by his right-wing opponents and the rightmost wing of the ALP would defect en masse to the National Front shortly before the midterms. However, Fukuyama's reforms were extraordinarily popular with American youth and the public as a whole. Fukuyama's foreign policy was likewise rather popular and he sought to pursue negotiation and nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union and China.
By the early 2000's, it seemed that Fukuyama had succeeded in his reform efforts and secured America's continued existence. However, a series of events from 2001 to 2003 would ultimately cause things to unravel. First was the 2001 May Day protests organized by American leftist groups. While Fukuyama supported the rights of these groups to assemble, in over a dozen states the National Guard cracked down on the protests, killing 38 and injuring over a hundred. Fukuyama's efforts to balance the demand for justice from the public and the reluctance of even those within his government to punish the perpetrators. Ultimately, only one governor (David Duke of Louisiana) was forced to leave office and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The next controversy to erupt came when the Mexican guerilla leader Rafael Sebastian Guillien Vincente (commonly known as Subcommandante Marcos) seized control of Mexico City with his forces. Members of the American government demanded Fukuyama send troops to restore the US-aligned regime of Francisco Labastida, but much of the public opposed an American intervention in Mexico. Fukuyama ultimately elected not to deploy troops. This caused major discontent among hardliners and in early 2002 a group of three generals (Michael Flynn, David Petraeus and Robert Gates) organized a coup against Fukuyama. The coup initially successfully trapped Fukuyama within his New York residence while Flynn declared himself acting president. However, before the military's hold on power could be solidified and Fukuyama disposed of, mass protests erupted across the nation.
These protesters were a varied lot-compassionate conservatives and communists, liberals and Luddites, members of all races and religions. What united them was the simple demand of 'Free Fukuyama!' Efforts by state governments to crush them failed as elements of the police and armed forces defected. The period (later dubbed the 'Messy March' by historians) ultimately would see General James Mattis lead a group of Fukuyama loyalist forces on the White House, capturing Flynn after a brief exchange of gunfire. The troops holding Fukuyama under house arrest were compelled to release the president and Fukuyama returned to power. However, he would face the fact much of his power had been shaken as a result of this attempted coup. Fukuyama's return to power was characterized by an initial optimism, but that would be crushed by the final blow: a pandemic. The plague, dubbed the swine flu despite technically not being an influenze strain, emerged in the American southwest before spreading thanks in large part due to the state government of Arizona's failure to notice it until it was too late. By the time the outbreak was noticed, it was a national crisis. Fukuyama initially attempted to coordinate a national quarantine, but ultimately the bulk of the pandemic response would be left up to the individual states thanks to the increasing paranoia of Fukuyama causing mass inefficiency at a federal level. Various states formed regional pacts to combat the virus and much of the country began to complain the national government had failed to handle the outbreak. Ultimately, the outbreak would burn itself out by the beginning of 2003, but by this point Fukuyama's reputation was in tatters and political radicalism was on the rise.
Fukuyama ultimately did realize this. He moved his State of the Union address ahead to late January to address the situation During that address, Fukuyama declared that the US as it had existed had de facto become a failed state. As a result, he was going to sign an executive order abolishing the totality of the federal government, with each interstate bloc becoming (at least temporarily) their own country, free to pursue their own destiny. Fukuyama's order went into effect on February 3rd, which is the day he officially ceased to be the president. However, Fukuyama remained in Washington DC and the White House for several months afterwards, helping negotiate what was to become of American governmental infrastructure, military equipment, former US currency and the national debt. The process of devolving power and managing disputes as some states sought to separate from the blocs they had formed the previous year took 5 years, at which point the post-US North America had finally taken shape. Fukuyama would, after this, become a college professor, something he had said was what he had previously hoped to become before entering politics. As an academic post-politics, Fukuyama notably contributed the 'end of history' hypothesis, citing that given most US successor states have adopted some form of socialism and the ongoing crisis of climate change generally being blamed on capitalist modes of production, the triumph of socialism over the world is now almost inevitable.
