When did the end of history begin?

The culture of the end of history is characterized by a particular type of irony - the subject, no longer having a meaningful political project (or religious project?) to which any given expression or act can either contribute or hinder, in a tone of pessimistic acceptance, mocks every form of power without affirming or committing to any kind of alternative.  This is the ascendance of "alternative culture," which only becomes dominant, ironically enough, when there is no alternative. 

But when, exactly, does it begin?  Even before the formal collapse of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union had, long before, ceased to be a meaningful alternative to capitalism.  Arguably, the USSR had been capitalist from the beginning.  Besides, even if the world is divided into 2 more power blocs, this does not significantly add to any individual's power to make substantive political change.  If some people, halfway around the world, live differently, how does that help me?  If anything, if a balance of power has been established, it may help prevent it. And so, the sense of ironic resignation that is characteristic of the "end of history" may long, long precede the breakdown of the system of rival superpowers.  It may precede the 20th century.

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