The force of history
By addressing History as a narrative with archetypal forces that guide the unfolding of time, Fukuyama hopes to reframe the reader's opinion of the present moment. Although some might argue "there is nothing new under the sun," the dynamics can often reach peaks and valleys in the narrative structure of time. This theme is shown with references to real history, from the French Revolution through the World Wars and into the Cold War. His discussion of the Cold War brings the reader to the "End" that the title fearfully mentions.
The political spectrum
The most powerful forces in history are the political movements either conservative or liberal. Instead of allowing those ideas to be captured in the simple opinions of one specific time, Fukuyama explains that the political tendencies to either tighten up borders and to become fiercely competitive and defensive (conservatism), or to push boldly into new ways of economic and social life (liberal) are antithetical, constant, and exhaustive. The constant interplay of left and right is a duality that brings history in and out of patterns and developments, he argues.
Thermonuclear disaster
Through time and the interplay of conservative and liberal interests, humans have recently reached a new technology, the nuclear bomb, with which they could instantly decimate the world as it is known today. This would be the "End of History," for Fukuyama's intents and purposes, because it would formally end the human history as it is known, invoking a new type of history that could be called apocalypse. The likelihood of thermonuclear disaster is a horrifying and permanent reality that has the makings of a climax.
