Great Division: Rebuilding Human Nature and Social Order

Author: Francis Fukuyama
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: This is the latest work by Francis Fukuyama, a world-renowned scholar and author of The End of History and the Last Man. It aims to explore the relationship between material progress in human society and the development of human morality. The author argues that neither religion, politics, law, nor any other system can explain the phenomenon of the mismatch between material progress and the development of human morality. For example, the direct consequence of the Industrial Revolution was a regression in both material progress and human morality, while the widespread colonialism, hedonism, and various tyrannies of the 19th century were all specific manifestations of this phenomenon. The new technological revolution of the mid-20th century and the subsequent post-industrial society and information age brought various social issues to the West, such as increased crime, the breakdown of families, and a crisis of trust. According to Fukuyama, the fundamental reason for this is the biological tendencies of humans. As human living conditions change, there is a significant adjustment process both physiologically and psychologically. Only by continuously adapting society to the realities of material progress can a relatively sound social order be established.