Few academics in the world have the prestige of Francis Fukuyama, an American political scientist, educated at Harvard University. Author of the book The End of History and the Last Man, published in 1992, in which he argued that the struggle between ideologies had ended as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the consequences it had, comes from presenting Liberalism and its disenchanted.
In his new volume, the North American professor identifies the threats facing the concept of classical liberalism, from misguided neoliberalism, the nationalist right, and the populist left. Invited by the Javeriana University, he was in Bogotá this week and EL TIEMPO spoke with him.
What do you mean when you talk about liberalism?
My definition goes back to the concept that was born in Europe after the wars between Catholics and Protestants. In the mid-17th century, thinkers began to argue that the concept of a proper life should not be tied to a particular religious doctrine, but more associated with protecting life and accepting differences between people. To the extent that the doctrine developed, it incorporated elements related to the dignity of human beings and the ability we have to make decisions of a moral nature, which leads to respect for individual rights, the law, against the power of the State. For me, that is the most important thing and it is related to equality, understanding that there is a fundamental equality between everyone.
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The term is not always understood like this…
It’s true. In the US, calling someone a liberal places them on the left of the political spectrum, in favor of a greater role for the state, while in European countries like Germany it would be equivalent to saying that someone is center-right, in favor of markets and less intervention. In addition, in Latin America there is more talk of neoliberalism, something more associated with capitalism in its purest state, which has more to do with the economy. For me, the approach is different. There are liberal societies such as Sweden, Denmark or Japan, in which decisions about how to live are made by people, something closely related to the freedom to choose.
How is that vision combined with the concept of democracy?
They are clearly linked, one to the other, although technically there may be a non-democratic liberal order, as is the case today with Singapore. The opposite can also happen, and today’s Hungary is an example. However, the most accepted model is that of democratic liberalism that includes free and fair elections, balance of powers, accountability and respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual within the framework of the law.
He speaks of disenchantment with liberalism in today’s world. Because?
To begin with, because both the right and the left have been attacking him. Much has to do with the rise of nationalist populism like the one promoted by Donald Trump in the United States or represented by Narendra Modi in India. In practice, it seeks to privilege some citizens over others, whether for racial, cultural or religious reasons. For its part, in Latin America there is populism that today identifies a good number of leftist governments, some of which do not necessarily govern for everyone, but rather to privilege their supporters. Cases like Argentina, Venezuela or Nicaragua.
Polls show support for liberal democracies on the decline…
There are differences depending on geography. In past decades we have observed what was called the third wave of democracy, which included the return to that form of government in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey during the 1970s. Shortly after came the turn of A. Latina, where almost all the dictatorships disappeared, which would end up being followed by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Due to what happened in various latitudes, the number of democracies rose to around 35 at the beginning. from the sixties to more than a hundred 30 years later. From there we began to see a setback, both in number and quality, which has been accompanied by growing disillusionment with the system.
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Did the disappearance of the Soviet Union and what you called at the time “the end of history” make democratic liberalism atrophy, in the absence of a totalitarian threat?
I think that when the collapse of the iron curtain came, the system that was left was so accepted that it was taken as an absolute victory that did not have to be defended. The problem is that in the absence of other options we all became complacent, and that included stretching certain liberal ideas to breaking point, such as downgrading the importance of the state in favor of markets. Then it was time to deregulate or privatize essential services, which brought some benefits, such as higher global growth. But the other side of the coin ended up being a large increase in inequality. In the northern hemisphere, people who lost their factory jobs because it was cheaper to do that work elsewhere saw their standard of living drop. And in the emerging countries the concentration of income increased. The discontent, accentuated by events such as the financial crisis of 2008, had political effects, with which liberalism has had a setback.
Do social networks have any responsibility in this?
Not only social networks, but the internet in general. And it is that its massification eliminated the intermediation that existed between the information and the content that people received, which had a lot of positive, but also came with its dark side. The avalanche became both a liberation and a weapon, including false truths. Added to this are algorithms aimed at maximizing traffic from existing platforms, appealing to sentiments such as anger and scandal, which undoubtedly plays a role in the polarization that is the norm today.
He mentioned populism, which in Latin America is once again in vogue. How do you parse this with the disenchantment with liberalism?
In this part of the world it has become a tool used mainly by the left, which proposes apparently easy solutions to very complex problems and uses the frustration of citizens as the engine of its advance. In fact, the greatest threat facing liberalism in this part of the world comes from the progressive left, which does not accept positions or beliefs other than those it poses, because it supposedly represents the popular will. Far from being tolerant or inclusive, it denounces those who think differently, seeks to concentrate power and displays totalitarian traits.
How do you read the popular protests, to which Latin Americans attend perhaps more frequently than citizens of other regions?
I think that taking to the streets to express discontent is a key element of a liberal democratic system. Possibly the rulers would not so clearly understand the resistance to certain decisions in another way. The problem is that on more than one occasion that anger leads to nothing or can be manipulated, without really improving the institutions. So, for there to be changes, much more is needed, including expression within the paths established by democracy: the popular vote or the renewal of leaders.
Beyond the tragedy that it implies, has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine given a certain air to the concept of democratic liberalism?
Definitely, because it shows what authoritarian leaders can do and at the same time proves that people are willing to make enormous sacrifices, including their own lives, to defend a system in which there are freedoms.
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How to fix what goes wrong in liberal democracies?
There are two levels at which that question can be answered. The first has to do with the range of policies that can be put in place to prevent abuse, such as everything related to the operation of the electoral system or campaign financing. In my book I didn’t do some kind of laundry list about it, because there’s a lot of material on it. Instead, I focused on the principles that must be followed. One of them is the defense of diversity, freedom of expression and tolerance.
How do you see A. Latina?
It is positive that there has been some shaking up of the system, because maintaining the status quo was not justifiable. The complaint about inequality is very old, without really having made much progress in reducing it, as is the perception that corruption is still there. What worries me about the leaders of this so-called ‘pink wave’ on the left, many of them populists, is that the proposed solutions do not seem to be adequate. My preference would have been for citizens’ choices to be between a strong center-right and center-left, focused on incremental change. Unfortunately, what one sees in this polarized environment is a right that does not want to give up any of its privileges and a left that wants to destroy what came before. It is not enough to shake the system, it is necessary to fix it. Deepening the problems or creating new ones does not solve anything and can further weaken the concept of liberal democracy.
Are you pessimistic or optimistic about the state of the world?
I take a long-term view of history, and what this shows is that progress has never been linear. There are periods of progress, bumps and even setbacks. And what the pattern shows is a trend towards progress, both in social and institutional indicators. Now we are clearly going through a period of turbulence in which several countries have backtracked. Again the lesson is that if power is concentrated in one individual the result is disastrous, which, by contrast, vindicates liberal democracy. The latter is obviously not perfect, but it has the characteristic that it can correct itself. That is what makes me moderately optimistic.
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RICARDO AVILA
Senior analyst
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