World Affairs Councils of America Cover to Cover Conference Call with Francis Fukuyama
Mr. Fukuyama will discuss his book
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment
January 24, 2019 11:00 - 11:30 am Free conference call event
Francis Fukuyama describes the demand for recognition of one’s identity as a master concept that unifies much of what is going on in world politics today. The universal concepts such as human rights on which liberal democracy is based has been increasingly challenged by narrower forms of recognition based on nation, religion, sect, race, ethnicity, or gender, which have resulted in anti-immigrant populism, the upsurge of politicized Islam, the fractious “identity liberalism” of college campuses, and the emergence of white nationalism. Populist nationalism, said to be rooted in economic motivation, actually springs from the demand for recognition and therefore cannot simply be satisfied by economic means. The demand for identity cannot be transcended; we must begin to shape identity in a way that supports rather than undermines democracy.
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment is an urgent and necessary book—a sharp warning that unless we forge a universal understanding of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.
Bring your questions!
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