An End to the End of History

1 An exhausted narrative

For a moment, it seemed as if we were out of history

For a moment, it seemed as if we were out of history, accustomed as we were to seeing the end of the Cold War as a definitive ideological victory of democracy and liberalism over their political and economic alternatives.

This end of history is an idea that has permeated Western culture for over thirty years. Educational programmes, expert analyses and political speeches have lulled us into the illusion of a concert of nations converging – almost in unison, but in any case inevitably – towards the same social ideal.

For several decades now, the peoples of many Western nations, thus mystified, have been carelessly making their way towards a globalised, rich and peaceful world, surrendering their political, economic, energy, cultural and military sovereignty without much resistance.

it is now clear to everyone that this is not the case...

In 2022, it is now clear to everyone that this is not the case. The current context of global crises of all kinds has put an abrupt end to this illusion. The almost instantaneous spread of these multiple crises on a planetary scale has highlighted the vulnerabilities of the system, underlining the fragility of the key international relations that guaranteed the cohesion of the whole.

The ingenuity of the vision of a world out of history is exposed. This myth has just been shattered. We have never left history. Our societies are not yet immune to the vectors that have repeatedly pushed them to profound questioning, sometimes precipitating their collapse. This is not the end of History, but the end of the End of History.

This realisation that we are not out of the woods, this awakening, marks a tipping point from which to explore the recurring motifs of history and other theories describing the cyclical march of the world.

1 the return of geopolitics

Bitcoin: a major new geopolitical and economic issue - Alexandre Stachtchenko SurfinBitcoin22

In this keynote, Alexander Stachtchenko analyses the economic and geopolitical stakes of Bitcoin in a world where crises follow one another and add up. As we live through the death of the illusion of “The End of History”, a concept described by Fukuyama, who in the 1990s promised a radiant future of concord and eternal peace to liberal democracies freed from the Soviet adversary, Alexandre Stachtchenko proposes to include Bitcoin as a key element in this “post-innocence” world, where the end of abundance evoked by Emmanuel Macron promises to be structuring in international economic and political relations.

Speaker’s Bio: Alexandre Stachtchenko is co-founder Blockchain Partner – Director Blockchain & Cryptos at KPMG France – Co-founder & Board-Member of ADAN, Alexandre is also co-author of the book “Bitcoin & Easy Crypto-currencies”.He regularly speaks at major events in France and around the world, (Tedx, Visionaries Conference, L’Obs 2049…). He is a privileged point of contact for the French and international media. Very involved in the development of blockchains & crypto-assets in France, he is co-founder and Board Member of ADAN. Alexandre actively participates in the evolution of legislation and regulation in France and in Europe, via working groups or specific actions, notably with the European Commission and the National Assembly.

His Twitter account https://twitter.com/StachAlex

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