A Front Row Seat at the End of History: The Untimely Essays of David

For over 25 years the essays by David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith critiqued the ideology of the 'end of history'. This belief, popular after the Cold War, assumed the West had 'won' and that the world would naturally converge towards liberal democracy. However, Jones and Smith, based initially on their experiences in Southeast Asia in the 1990s, challenged this idea, observing ethno-religious tensions, underlying economic instability, and clashing cultural values. They highlighted the fragility of the Asian economic boom, the rise of Islamist activism pre-9/11, and the dangers of Western military interventions. They argued that a secular progressive ideology was undermining Western culture and geopolitical awareness. Despite their gloomy diagnosis of the West's trajectory, they still saw potential for the West to recover its purpose and confidence. However, world events have, tragically, evolved to validate much of Mike and David's work. Their views, once marginalised, are now seen as prophetic. This volume reflects the best part of three decades' worth of endeavour. Welcome to the uncompromising thought of scholars standing on the shoulders of giants.

Review :
'At a time of stifling conformity in academia, we need this wonderful collection of brilliant, funny and often prescient essays by those fearless rebels Smith and Jones'. Dr Ruth Dudley Edwards A Front Row Seat at the End of History analyses comprehensively and rigorously the origins and consequences of the flight from reality that characterises liberal internationalism. In doing so it highlights the wish-fulfilment and hypocrisy of intellectuals and policy makers who it held in its sway. It should come as no surprise to readers that the authors should have paid a high price in reputational terms for their bravely expressed contrarian opinions, having been proved emphatically right by the turn of events. Gerry Frost, writer and journalist The End of History is the great lie of our age, its great de-intellectualising dogma; but even more mendacious is that our academics and administrators disassociate themselves from it, if pressed, with sly quips, when it is they who unleash this beast upon us. Someone had to drive a stake into the contemporary Western worldview, and it was Jones and Smith who undertook this quest. Dr Eric Hendricks, sociologist and essayist Jones and Smith are the best antidote to these times of universal deceit. This collection of essays is a must-read for all of us concerned for the future of our world. Andrew T.H. Tan (PhD), Principal Fellow, Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs, New Zealand. A wonderful set of essays from two under-appreciated and underestimated voices. They are full of humour and prophetic insight. Dr Joanna Williams, author and commentator