How liberalism challenges societal structures - Integrative Summary Paper

Running head: INTEGRATIVE SUMARY PAPER
INTEGRATIVE SUMARY PAPER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

INTEGRATIVE SUMARY PAPER1
Title: How liberalism challenges the existing and normalised societal structures.
In this integrative summary, the argument that Liberalism has vanquished religion in
Europe, which was raised by Francis Fukuyama in his book ‘The End of History and the Last
Man’ has been looked at from multiple perspectives. Following up on the 1989 essay by the
name “The end of history” Fukuyama highlights the ascendency of the western style liberal
democracy that was brewing in the post-cold war era following the collapse of the Soviet Union
as the tipping point of the scale where mankind was reaching the pinnacle of ideological
evolution. In that aspect, Fukuyama was referring to the Western Liberal Democracy and its
universalization as the final form of human government1. Stating this idea has brought out one
significant aspect in the middle of all these, the aspect of Liberal Democracy. It is a form of
governance and political ideology that is built upon the framework of classical liberalism. John
Stuart Mill has stated that the freedoms of thought and expressions were the principal concerns
of the liberals in the nineteenth century. Substantiated by the argument that humans are infallible
and the fact that the governments and majority are formed of human power, the authority to
supress views and opinions are not given to the government or likewise bodies2. The text of John
Stuart Mill provides for a substantially strong base while the notions of liberalism and the
western governments based on liberal ideologies are considered. Primarily, liberalism, by
identifying freedom of thought and expression as a fundamental attribute of right, allows for
people to express their views and opinions. Secondly, the core notion of liberalism is also built
stating that the inward domain of consciousness2 that demands the liberty of conscience,
expression and publication of opinions and in the most basic element, the liberty of thought in
itself, goes against what the historically identified ideologies of
1. Fukuyama, Francis. "The end of history?." The national interest 16 (1989): 3-18.