The Unfinished Rhyme of History 

In 1989, the conservative political philosopher Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union collapsing, he predicted that free-market capitalism and liberal democracy will win—once and for all—over all other political and economic forms of organizing societies. The Cold War was finished, and Fukuyama saw the global spread of Western liberal democracy as the final stage in the evolution of human social rule. 

History proved Fukuyama wrong of course. In our current decade, events appear to even compete in demonstrating how exactly mistaken he was. We are living in a moment in history that may very well be noted in the history books as the beginning of the end of liberal democracy.

Even if Fukuyama would not have been proven factually inaccurate, his thesis still has faults. It adheres to a top-down view of history, focusing on vast systems, famous actors, and big events. What about people’s history? 

The people’s will to freedom and their commitment to fairness is not something that can be extinguished; no matter the ruling ideological framework. Nevertheless, the state of Israel is acting in ways that can only be viewed as an attempt to systematically annihilate the population in Gaza. There has never been a war in history where 80% of a country has been destroyed and 100% of the population displaced—Lebanese diplomat Mohamed Safa highlights on social media. In March 2025, the state of Israel committed the largest mass murder of children in history, writes Palestinian journalist Hanin Majadli, in the Israeli media outlet Haaretz. 

The events bring to mind a quote from Ursula K. Le Guin: “What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?” In a time of unprecedented horrors that unfold amidst a permacrisis that subsumes our very lives, we look to history to find guidance. While the events and the scale in which they are taking place seem impossible to either comprehend or counter, we have seen events not completely dissimilar happen before. What could a person from the Middle Ages tell us about understanding history and staying sane amidst the plague, the burning of witches, peasant uprisings, the fall of Constantinople and with it the last remains of the Roman Empire? 

We might never know exactly what they would say since history books follow a narrative in support of the winners. This is an essential warning; history is not a given but something we need to wrestle over. What we are taught might not be the whole story, and the truth is often more complicated than it seems. Yet, the saying history is written by the winners is also partly untrue and certainly defeatist. History is written by the people who make it, not by the people writing the history books. History is made by the ones who have the courage to act, independently of whether they are kings or peasants, or the more contemporary: factory workers, social media influencers or those of us living on disability aid. 

History is driven by people who take steps that are seemingly small for mankind, but gigantic for the person. We would even claim that they often tend to become big steps for both. History is driven by communities who showed us what was the right thing to do back then and who continue to serve as inspirations today. However, in order for that to happen we need to be aware of them in the first place. 

How many have heard about the members of the Norwegian Resistance Movement who halted the Nazis’ nuclear bomb program by destroying the only hydroelectric power plant that produced deuterium for the Germans? Or are aware of the French farmers who successfully resisted the plans to build an army base in Larzac? After ten years of holding their ground, the military project was cancelled and the experiments with more communal ways of living flourished. Thanks to the people in Larzac and many others we know that an antimilitarist stance can win, it is possible to say a firm no when the army comes knocking, even during the Cold War. 

In 1961, Nelson Mandela participated in forming the paramilitary unit uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) to fight against apartheid after the Sharpeville Massacre. Even the architect of reconciliation, who went on to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, knew that in certain situations one has to use force to defend oneself. This lesson and the knowledge of MK is often left out of the story. 

The Kurdish self-defense forces opened up a humanitarian corridor from Mount Sinjar into Syria in 2014 in order to save the Yazidis from a genocide by the Islamic State who had already murdered and kidnapped thousands. Most cars in the region are said to have come to help transport the people away from the area to safety. Or the people of Kobane, who defied the odds and defended their homes against the Islamic State, who had surrounded the city from three sides; while the fourth, the border to Turkey, was kept closed despite calls to open it. 

What steps are needed to be able to open a corridor to Gaza or to stop the genocide? How can we become a social force strong enough to keep each other and our communities alive?

Today, fascism is lifting its head in many places, and to face that threat we need to remember that we have beaten fascism before. In fact, this year marks 80 years since the fall of Nazi-Germany and at the end of April, Italy is commemorating Liberation Day from fascism. Ironically, the far-right prime minister of Italy also celebrates this occasion, calling it a moment to “restore national peace.” This serves as a reminder of the complexities of history. Fascism did not take hold from one day to another, and the future is still unwritten, both literally and figuratively. Our roots and the traditions we come from carry weight from the past into the present, and from the present into the future.

Here also the role of the media comes in. What narratives do we paint and which words do we use? What can even be said in the face of violence? How we understand the past has a significant influence over what we think is possible in the present. Therefore, Turning Point is excited to collaborate with Working Class History in April. Working Class History is a media project that puts their spotlight on the social forces that in the end are the driving force of history. 

Despite all the important historical events and actions to learn about and from, what often works in most situations is relatively simple. Building resilient communities, developing cooperation, and taking care of not only our closest kin but our neighbors as well. We have to collaborate to achieve change, since divided we can merely beg. There needs to be long-term communal solutions but we can also make history in the here and now. An unknown underage schoolgirl decided that enough is enough and started a one-women school strike outside the Swedish Parliament in 2018. Now the whole world knows the name Greta Thunberg.

It goes without saying that fame is not the main goal but Thunberg, just like Rosa Parks or Sylvia Rivera, serve as examples to show how inspiring and unforgettable any act of resistance can become. If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room to quote the African proverb made famous by the Dalai Lama. When someone, despite the consequences, speaks truth to power, we tend to stop, listen, and remember it. More than desperate measures, we think that our desperate times call for brave measures. Let’s look to history for inspiration and courage. 

There are endless sayings about history but one especially tickles our minds at this moment in time: History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. What will April 2026 look like? Only history will tell. Or will it?