Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington

Francis Fukuyama is an American philosopher, a political economist and an author. Samuel Huntington is an American political scientist. In 1989, Fukuyama published "The end of history?" in The National Interest. In 1993, Huntington published "The Clash of Civilizations" in Foreign Affairs.

Both pieces spoke of things to come as seen by Fukuyama and Huntington. The works outlined their views on history and its future. Both provoked heavy debate and discussion and influenced not only the thoughts of others, but the way they thought as well. Still, the authors' perspectives were more contrasting with Huntington gearing more toward describing post-Cold War geopolitics. It speaks of cultural tensions tearing civilizations apart, which is only true to an extent.

Their theories are absolutist, and the reality is that you cannot predict history and make broad generalizations. Both make valid points, but the thought of history or art or philosophy ending is simply extreme. One hundred years from now the world may be completely different. Democracy may be dead, and there is just no way of knowing.