Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law: Conservatives and the State

The American Interest ^ | July 28, 2012 | Francis Fukuyama

[lbryce]

When I was asked by the editors of the Financial Times to contribute to a series on the future of conservatism, I hesitated because it seemed to me that in both the US and Europe what was most needed was not a new form of conservatism but rather a reinvention of the left. For more than a generation we have been under the sway of conservative ideas, against which there has been little serious competition. In the wake of the financial crisis and the rise of massive inequality, there should be an upsurge of left-wing populism, and yet some of the most energized populists both in the US and Europe are on the right. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is surely that publics around the world have very little confidence that the left has any credible solutions to our current problems.

The rise of the French Socialists and Syriza in Greece does not belie this fact; both are throwbacks to an old and exhausted left that will sooner rather than later have to confront the dire fiscal situation of their societies. What we need is a left that can stem the loss of rich-world middle class jobs and incomes through forms of redistribution that do not undermine economic growth or long-term fiscal health.

But if you can’t solve the problem from the left, maybe you can do it from the right. The model for a future American conservatism has been out there for some time:

Continued at American Interest.

Johns Hopkins SAIS | Faculty | Francis Fukuyama's Home Page

[backwoods-engineer]

what was most needed was not a new form of conservatism but rather a reinvention of the left.

Why do so many in the Fox News circles revere this guy? He sure seems to be no friend to freedom-loving people.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Was not sure if this was sarcasm or if Mr Fukuyama was actually from a different dimension of reality..............