17. Book Review ; Francis Fukuyama – “On Identity”

17 september 2019

Francis Fukuyama, well known as the author of “The End of History and the Last Man”, devotes his attention to “Identity” because he notes that identity, as a consequence of the ongoing globalisation, becomes more and more confused while a clear identity is needed to underpin a nation, which is itself required to ensure the functioning of democratic institutions.

It is possible to read this book in a very efficient way and to go directly to chapter 14 (the last one) with the title”What is to be done ?” If you do this you will miss how the meaning of identity changed over time, from Catholicism to Luther, to Kant, to Rousseau, and so on, but you will have more time to consider the relevant statements FF makes about the problem of identity in our times, both in the USA and in Europe. Essential is, according to FF that at the basis of identity resides “dignity”; The search for identity is a search for Dignity (thymos). Hereafter I only focus on chapter 14.

FF sees currently three main ways identity is clarified (dignity is obtained).

The  more traditional liberal one in which individuals are free to express their individuality and are not hindered by the state.

Next to this interpretation he notes that some groups, define their identity in function of ethnic background, race or religion. This leads to potentially illiberal forms of nationalism and politically organized religion (e.g. Islamism).

A third way to deal with identity is the leftist approach which supports different smaller groups of under-evaluated people, and glorifies diversity as such. FF is definitely not happy with this leftist approach : First, diversity is itself no “Creed” and FF is convinced of the need to have a Creed, a joint moral platform as a basis for the nation; Second, because the Left rejects the Creed of the superiority of the foundations of the System of Liberal Democracy ; Third, because they no longer support their initial public, the workers.

Therefore, according to FF there is a need to propagate the essence of the Creedal message to all involved. This must be the glue that holds the unavoidable diversity  together. I believe that this Creedal element is similar if not equal to Bassam Tibi’s  concept of “Leitkultur”. In both cases the Creed/Leitkultur will propagate the essence of Liberal Democracy and ideals like Freedom and Equality. And while the right-wing refuses newcomers and the leftists claim open borders, FF stresses the need to make a difference between citizen, documented immigrant and undocumented immigrant and states that the real focus of all, both left and right should be “on strategies for better assimilating immigrants to a country’s Creedal identity.” (p. 171)

FF makes separate recommendations for the European Union and for the United States. Hereafter we follow this logic :

The European Unit should:

> create a “single citizenship whose requirements would be based on adherence to basic liberal democratic principles” ;

> invest in a European Identity “through the creation of the appropriate symbols and narratives”;

> better controls its borders by a better staffing of Frontex, the border control unit.

Individual member states :

> who base citizenship on ius sanguinis should introduce a citizenship based on ius solis;

> should reject dual citizenship;

> should deconstruct their systems of pillarization (as exists in Holland and Belgium);

The United States on the other hand :

> has already a Creedal identity but this identity is under attack by both the Left and the Right;

> has a system to teach “basic civics” but this is in long term decline;

> has installed different educational programs which aim to speed up the acquisition of English but have led by now to the creation of “constituencies of their own” with their own bureaucracies;

> should hold on to the meaningful distinctions between citizens and non-citizens and between documented and not-documented non-citizens;

> should consider the introduction of a national service as a requirement to obtain the nationality;

> should continue its enforcement policies, but a Wall is not needed to ensure enforcement. What is required is a national identification system that would allow employers to verify the citizen-status of the employees;

> should set-up a path to citizenship for undocumted persons;

> should devote more attention to social policies.