The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order

Author - Francis Fukuyama ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Free Press was reviewed on 4-Nov-2008.

Search ISBN:0684865777 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order Reference Book. Classifications : 20th Century World History Subjects Books General World History Subjects Books General AAS World History Subjects Books Civil Rights & Liberties Current Events Nonfiction Subjects Books General Politi . Click the following link to view the cover of The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order.

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1) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. Reading the book was a painful experience and I grew somewhat cranky towards the end, for similar reasons, one gets cranky when s/he is sitting in a theatre, watching a movie that just seems to be going on for a bit too long. Not that the book in itself is too long- at a mere 282 pages, it is a quick read. However what made the book feel so long is the absence of an overall theme that runs through the book. Or even if there is one, it is not easily distinguishable from the mass of statistics that is thrown at the reader without threads that tie them all neatly together. Part of the problem stems from the fact that Prof. Fukuyama strays too far from his core academic discipline- political science into areas like anthropology, sociology, economics and evolutionary biology in which he is no expert. And while I can only claim limited knowledge of all of these subjects, I would claim to believe that I can distinguish the writing of an expert in a particular field from someone who is a dilettante and Fukuyama´s writing would fit the second category. As a direct consequence of this desire to over reach, Prof. Fukuyama commits errors that are unseemly in a serious work of this nature. For example, in one section when he talks about numerous sectarian conflicts around the world, he refers to the conflicts "between Hindus and Tamils in Sri Lanka": factually incorrect; the conflict in Sri Lanka is between Sinhala Buddhists and Hindu Tamils, not between Hindus and Tamils. In general, what is undeniable is the stamp of an amateur writ large on much of the book.

In addition, Professor Fukuyama´s world view of liberal humanism affects his message and leads to a conclusion that would seem shaky on the basis of the facts presented in the book and one´s one world experience. For example, in his third section on "The Great Reconstruction," he summarizes some of the arguments that have been put forward historically by astute observers such as Joseph Schumpeter, Daniel Bell and others who maintain that capitalism, by promoting unfettered individualism, destroys the community, undermines its own foundations and sets up the stage for the eventual collapse of capitalism. And yet in response to these critics whose arguments personally seem well-founded to me, Fukuyama retorts by saying: "The problem with the "contradictions of capitalism" literature, apart from the fact that capitalism has not yet collapsed or otherwise undermined itself, is that it is extremely one-sided." This is a laughable defense because one is not asserting that capitalism´s collapse will take place by 2020 or 2050. Instead one is arguing that capitalism sets in motion powerful forces that undermine its very basis and sets up the stage for its collapse. The author does little to advance serious arguments that would take the contrary position whereas that was the whole purpose of the book. In fact when he attempts to provide reasons as to why social order will survive, he places an inordinate amount of belief in the networks which will be created in the new information age and which, he argues, would meet people´s needs of connecting with people. That, to me, is a pie-in-the-sky idea. I, by virtue of having reviewed the book, might as well be part of a online community of "Reviewers of the book Disruption." Yet being a member of the online community, will do nothing to meet my desire for companionship; indeed I cannot play Taboo with this group, I cannot go out and have a round of drinks at my local bar and on a more somber note, I cannot reasonably expect anyone from this online "community" to pay me a visit at the hospital should I fall sick. For all of those needs outlined above, one will need the community of people, human beings in flesh and blood, and I am not sure what mechanisms and forces are being set up today in the U.S. and Western Europe, the societies that are the main foci of the book, which will provide for an adequate level of social capital (the central question posed) and whether our sense of community will survive the simultaneous and relentless advances of secular rationalism, moral relativism and unfettered capitalism. Unfortunately, I am not an optimist on this front and "Disruption" provided few reasons for me to change my position.

Final words: Save yourself the pain; don´t read the book. I am hesitant to recommend another book on the topic though having read reviews of the book "Bowling Alone" (and not the book itself), I am likely to suggest that book as an alternative if you are interested in exploring these questions of anomie.¤

2) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. The subject matter is really quite interesting and his thesis is convincing. The big problem I have with this book is in its structure. It starts out with a big section of statistics, then a big section of interpretation of the statistics, with "the big picture" never really materializing.¤

3) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. When the End of History appeared, one did not know exactly what to think of it, nowadays we know who Fukuyama is: the US Republican party ideologue. While the end of history tried to prove the US Republican ideology as the philosophical nec plus ultra, the goal of history, in an Hegelian way, the great disruption tries to prove it as a biological-sociological necessity, to be human is to be a Republican.
Although it is a flawed book, it makes interesting reading to discern fact and fiction in this book, the places where the conclusions and facts just disconnect, it is like unravelling the Da Vinci code. The danger of the book is the indiscriminate use of academic bits and pieces, it gives a veneer of credibility to the whole were it is not always warranted.
The basic premise of the book, namely the importance of social capital and the decline thereof since the mid 60´s, is something I take as credible, although even Fukuyama admits he cannot really prove it very well. From the dip in social capital, Fukuyama delves into the fundamentals of human nature to prove that we are moral and will ultimately reconstitute some moral order along conservative party lines, the invisible hand of morality will cause an upward cycle after every downward cycle, hardly a convincing story line.
What is, however funny about the book is that the academic material presented can just as easily be construed to disprove the republican dogmas. E.g. accepting the importance of social capital in healthy economies makes mince-meat of the Bush-bubble economic policy of indiscriminate deficit spending. I do think social capital deserves its own capital letter in the Cobb-Douglass function, it would probably de-emphasize the worship of productivity a little bit in economic thought and make economic theory a bit more relevant to the economy.
Other blind spots for Fukuyama include the role of inequality in the break-down of social capital (e;g; in the false statement that it is pride, not injustice, why test persons reject unequal outcomes in 2-player distribution games). Another blind spot for Fukuyama is that he sees only a causal relation one-way between the loss of social capital and demographic decline, not the other way around, from demographic decline to loss of social capital.
Fukuyama writes with ideological blinders but still puts the main social problem of the 90´s and early 21st century on the table, that is why I grant a 2 star to the book.

¤

4) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. It is quite difficult to me to feel anything but a benign "that´s interesting" type of indifference to this book. On some things, Fukuyama does rather well. On others, I could not resist the urge to rhetorically ask myself: "Did he really get this published?"

First, the good stuff. As others have noted, Fukuyama provides decent factual documentation and analysis to support part 1 of his argument - that the social bonds common to the days of yore have dissipated through time (aside from a few contradictions that I´ll get to later). He also provides a quite lively, if a tad oversimplified and/or overeager, section on the life sciences´ recent findings that we are social creatures after all.

So that accounts for the two extant stars. What accounts for the three I decided to withhold? First, and most devestatingly, Fukuyama never makes it clear how this dissipation of ´social capital´ can be attributed to the ´information revolution´ - the transition from an industrial-based to information-based economy or culture. It seems his only strategy is to rule out, curtly and unconvincingly, other variables only to tell us: "Well it couldn´t be those, and since the timing is right, so it must be the information revolution." I don´t buy it (yet), and don´t see how Fukuyama expects me to.

Second, there are an embarassing number of out-and-out contradictions in this book. First, there is the biggie: Fukuyama spends a lot of time telling us that via human nature, the rebuilding of social bonds is endemic and inevitable to humankind. Then, in the next section, he tells us that we must work dilligently to bring about what he just told us was endemic and inevitable. (This is reminiscent of Marx telling us that the revolution was inevitable and that therefore, the workers must be dillegent in ensuring that it comes about).

There are other contradictions: Fukuyama tells us in the book that crime is and has been on the rise for some time. A bit later, though, he tells us that the vast majority of American neighborhoods are safe and that it is only people´s perception of rising crime via the media tht seems to be the problem. He also tells us that marriages dissolving in their first few years is a new frightening trend, while later in the book teling us that it is "not uncommon" for marriages to dissipate only after the kids are raised. I just don´t understand!

Anyhow, I could go on, but I´d rather get to my main point: although this book may have a few eye opening moments (generally those moments where Fukuyama is reinforcing things we already know), all in all, it is not worth your time. If you want to explore the weakening of the ´social fabric´ try Etzionni´s "The Spirit of Community" or Callahan´s "The Cheating Culture." If you are interested in the life sciences´ research on the sociality of humans, try Ridley´s "The Origin of Virtue," or Axelrod´s ´Evolution of Cooperation.´ Both do a better job than this book.¤

5) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. The one thing with Francis Fukuyama is that he can´t be faulted for not speaking his mind. From his essential "End of History" he has drawn further conclusions on the demise of Western society. On the one hand, it is an interesting read, while, on the other hand it is a bit weak in many ways. Fukuyama uses broad statistics and generalisations to make stunning conculsions about society in general, and people in particular. While I don´t personally agree with much of what he writes, it provides an excellent forum for discussion and a welcome point of view to some narrow assumptions in sociology. I wouldn´t recommend it for an introduction, but rather for a good supplement if you´re already interested.¤

6) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press.

In the past thirty years, the United States has undergone a profound transformation in its social structure: Crime has increased, trust has declined, families have broken down, and individualism has triumphed over community. Has the Great Disruption of recent decades rent the fabric of American society irreparably? In this brilliant and sweeping work of social, economic, and moral analysis, Francis Fukuyama shows that even as the old order has broken apart, a new social order is already taking its place. The Great Disruption forges a new model for understanding the Great Reconstruction that is under way.¤

7) Paperback Book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Free Press. Francis Fukuyama cements his reputation as a wide-ranging public intellectual with this big-think book on social order and human nature. Following his earlier successes (The End of History and the Last Man and Trust), Fukuyama argues that civilization is in the midst of a revolution on a par with hunter-gatherers learning how to farm or agricultural societies turning industrial. He finds much to celebrate in this cultural, economic, and technological transformation, but "with all the blessings that flow from a more complex, information-based economy, certain bad things also happened to our social and moral life." Individualism, for example, fuels innovation and prosperity, but has also "corroded virtually all forms of authority and weakened the bonds holding families, neighborhoods, and nations together." Yet this is not a pessimistic book: "Social order, once disrupted, tends to get remade again" because humans are built for life in a civil society governed by moral rules.

We´re on the tail end of the "great disruption," says Fukuyama, and signs suggest a coming era of much-needed social reordering. He handles complex ideas from diverse fields with ease (this is certainly the first book whose acknowledgments thank both science fiction novelist Neal Stephenson and social critic James Q. Wilson), and he writes with laser-sharp clarity. Fans of Jared Diamond´s Guns, Germs, and Steel and David Landes´s The Wealth and Poverty of Nations will appreciate The Great Disruption, as will just about any reader curious about what the new millennium may bring. This is simply one of the best nonfiction books of 1999. --John J. Miller¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Dec-2008, 06848657779780684865775, 350-520-190-770-500-230-NPB-8

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