The Last Man. Where Is the World Heading?

Moderated discussion
in English and German (with interpretation)

Can one become world-famous with a single phrase? Yes! In spring 1989, American theorist Francis Fukuyama did exactly that. In the view of many, he captured in words and thought the greatest turning point of the era since World War II when he spoke of the "end of history".

Now Fukuyama is coming to Hamburg! This is an opportunity to meet one of the most influential thinkers of our time, better understand our world, and pose the burning questions of our age:

Did the end of the world order divided between East and West, communism and capitalism, and the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly 40 years ago truly lead to the triumph of the Western-liberal system and the end of competing ideologies - in other words, the "end of history" as an age of conflict? How does Fukuyama retrospectively assess his utopia of that time? (As a "side effect," he predicted the advent of an era of the "last man" - a species rather hedonistic, lacking friction.)

How does he read our confused present? How do the two turning points connect? How does he see our future? Fukuyama thinks holistically. It is no coincidence that in his latest book "The Last Man. Where Is the World Heading?" (2026) he returns to his famous title "The End of History and the Last Man" (1992).

Toward what world order are we heading? Liberal democracy is in crisis. After a long phase of democratization, we have returned to a world of power, driven primarily by authoritarian movements, technological change, neoliberalism, and identity politics. Through his reflections on the state of the world, Francis Fukuyama shows why freedom-oriented thinking is the only alternative for Western societies in the 21st century. Especially from