The End Of History and Mr. Putin

[spike]

"The End Of History" is a book by Francis Fukuyama. He wrote it as an explanation for the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union. In it he postulates that the collapse represents the end of a lengthy ideological struggle to determine how best to govern humankind (for best results). In the end the ideological struggle whittled down to two systems, between democracy/capitalism and communism. And as we know, democracy/capitalism triumphed, hence the end of history.

It really wasn't the end of History but the end of a long history. But since it was such an important part of History, probably the most important in the annals of humankind, it seemed like the end to History.

Mr. Putin is trying to reverse history. He wants to restore the Soviet Empire through the expansion of the Russian Federation. But with one big difference: he shuns the communism of old because it doesn't allow for capitalism or the creation of individual wealth. Essentially, though, Putin runs an authoritarian capitalism, like China, where capitalism is controlled by him and his cronies. Individuals are allowed to profit in this system, whereas they couldn't under communism. But there are limitations with Putin’s capitalism in that it occurs at his pleasure, unlike in the West where capitalism occurs at the pleasure of free market principles. Putin makes his own law, whereas democracy/capitalism complies with the rule of law instituted by free people. The citizens of Putin's State are marginally free, but at his behest.

Putin said that the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which occurred in 1991, was one of History's greatest mistakes. So now he is trying to rebuild it with his latest move to annex the Crimean peninsula. His empire building is mostly to counter the growing influence of the West and its system of free market principles. His strategy includes authoritarian control over the economy and free markets. But President Obama said Putin is on the wrong side of History. And he’s right because the world and its people want and need to be free, like democratic/capitalism makes possible. However, Putin is moving in the opposite direction with his illiberal capitalism. In the short term he may win and get what he wants but in the long run he will lose.

Putin will eventually lose because History is directional, as Fukuyama explains in his treatise. It is directional towards more open and fluid societies. That’s why democracy/capitalism triumphed, because it is going in that direction. However, in his world Putin wants to maintain a limited open society, one that suits him and his oligarchy, where they are in control. A truly open society would threaten his power. He thinks the world is built and runs on centralized power. However, those days are gone. History champions open societies because they are more advanced and progressive. The controlled society Putin wants to maintain is not progressive but warped and backward looking. In the end societies like that will end up relying more and more on open societies to sustain them, because controlled societies stagnate and eventually collapse, like happened with the old Soviet Empire Putin is determined to recreate.

[The Voice of Time]

I feel certain enough that in a few decades many Russian people will look back and see a double-edged sword in Putin... on the one hand he expanded Russia and brought more Russians under the Russian flag, as well as consolidated the nation.

On the other hand, he exercised economical mismanagement (as seen by GDP growth figures, which for such a promising country like Russia should really be much higher), isolated Russia, practised political authoritarianism and power-greed, undermined democratic principles, and built up an excessive culture of masculinization, religion and with the homophobia as well as the extremely high percentage needed to get a representative into the parliament (7%) he is undermining minority groups and silencing their voice in exchange for a dumbed-down "one voice" which is really just a social control mechanism equivalent of repression.

So all in all, if they're smart they'll remember him as the bastard at the turn of the century.