Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy Francis Fukuyama: ‘The old United States is NOT COMING BACK’
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Sep 9, 2026 
Francis Fukuyama, the political scientist and author of The End of History, reassesses democracy in an age of Trump and populism. He explores young men’s status anxiety, social media’s fractured realities, the hunger for political purpose, and why extremism offers criticism without a better world. Fukuyama also reflects on Iraq, AI, Europe’s future, and an America the world can no longer rely on.
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Catastrophe Creates A Chance To Matter
- Modern radicals often catastrophize stable conditions to make ordinary political action feel heroic.
- Fukuyama compares MAGA supporters and privileged student protesters seeking sacrifice through different causes.
Social Media Has Fragmented Reality
- Digital platforms let people inhabit online realities where unsupported claims circulate without credibility filters.
- Fukuyama cites the belief that COVID vaccines were deadlier than COVID itself as an example.
Motivated Reasoning Picks Facts After Answers
- People commonly choose conclusions first, then selectively assemble evidence that confirms their political prejudices.
- Fukuyama connects this motivated reasoning to both Iraq War supporters and modern conspiracy theories.
