In the episode, I talk to Phillip Cunliffe and George Hoare about their new book The End of the End of History.

In 1989, Francis Fukuyama predicted a boring eternity of liberal capitalism and for nearly 30 years, it looked like he might be right. We had Clinton and Blair. Globalization and apathy. Kurt Cobain. According to my guests, the end of History wasn’t just about politics, it was a whole vibe.

But since 2016, things have started happening that don't quite fit the pattern and the pundits are losing their minds. Do Brexit, Trump, and the new politicization signify the end of the end of History?

We chat about how the political zeitgeist has changed in recent years and what that may hold for the future.

Phillip Cunliffe and George Hoare are, along with Alex Hochuli, co-hosts of the Aufhebunga bunga podcast and co-authors of The End of the End of History: Politics in theTwenty-First Century.

Jeffrey Bercuson is author of A History of Political Thought: Property, Labor, and Commerce from Plato to Piketty.

This book does a whirlwind tour through the history of political thought explaining how different thinkers have approached the commercial or money-making part of human life. We talk about how attitudes have shifted from ancient scepticism about commerce in Plato and Aristotle to its celebration in thinkers like Hegel and Hayek.

Bercuson also explains how, even if we accept the arguments of some of capitalism’s biggest boosters, we still wind up on the left side of the existing political options.

Sep of Sep’s Weird Movie Blog comes on to talk about Christmas movie and capitalist fairy tale, Trading Places. Sep is Good in Theory’s episode artist, editor, and BFF of the pod.