It was the slave's continuing desire for recognition that was the motor which propelled history forward, not the idle complacency and unchanging self-identity of the master
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that the quest for recognition among the oppressed has been a driving force in historical progress, unlike the stagnant nature of those in power.
This quote by Francis Fukuyama highlights the idea that the desire for acknowledgment and validation from the enslaved individuals serves as the crucial impetus for societal change and historical progress. In contrast, the complacency and unyielding sense of self among the oppressors stifle innovation and hinder development. This underscores a fundamental dynamic where the struggles and aspirations of the marginalized lead to advancements that reshape history.
In practice
This quote is relevant when discussing social justice movements and the role of marginalized voices in shaping history.
If people who have to work together in an enterprise trust one another it is because they are all operating to a common set of ethical norms....such a society will be better able to innovate...since the high degree of trust will permit a wide variety of social relationships to emerge.
The desire for economic prosperity is itself not culturally determined but almost universally shared
What Asia's postwar economic miracle demonstrates is that_x000D_ capitalism is a path toward economic development that is potentially_x000D_ available to all countries. No underdeveloped country in the_x000D_ Third World is disadvantaged simply because it began the growth_x000D_ process later than Europe, nor are the established industrial powers_x000D_ capable of blocking the development of a latecomer, provided_x000D_ that country plays by the rules of economic liberalism.
The rationale for tenure is still valid. But the system has turned the academy into one of the most conservative and costly institutions in the country. Yes, conservative: Economists joke that their discipline advances one funeral at a time, but many fields must wait for wholesale generational turnover before new approaches take hold.
America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.
The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
White America has seen to it that Black history has been suppressed in schools and in American history books. The bravery of hundreds of our ancestors who took part in slave rebellions has been lost in the mists of time, since plantation owners did their best to prevent any written accounts of uprisings.
It's a touchy subject, but as a Southerner, you can't ignore our history any more than a Renaissance painter can ignore the Virgin Mary. And it's impossible to drive down a road or eat a vegetable or pass a church without being reminded of slavery.
For it was in the golden prime Of good Haroun Alraschid.
The first democratic revolution was England in the 1640s.
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