Summary of Primacy of Culture by Francis Fukuyama
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 encumberent 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
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 encumberent 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