The title of this essay tends to catch readers off guard unless they are familiar with the work of Francis Fukuyama, a political scientist and philosopher.

Fukuyama, a Japanese-American argued in 1992 that liberal democracy may constitute the "end point of mankind's ideological revolution" and the "final form of human government" and as such constituted the "end of history". Hence the term was not meant to be taken literally that events over time would stop being added to mankind's history.

Fukuyama echoed the thoughts of Hegel and Engels that societies would evolve over time in approximately the following manner:

Tribal Slavery & Subsistence Agriculture Theocracies Monarchies Modern Liberal Democracy & Technologically Driven Capitalism

Of course these thinkers did not simplistically conclude that such an evolution would occur in a simple, linear directional fashion. There would be societies that would move back and forth between certain forms.

In applying this conceptual framework to Malaysian society, it would seem that we've moved to a modern, technologically driven capitalistic society that practices some form of democracy. We have skyscrapers, air-conditioned retail malls, miles and miles of toll charging highways and industrial complexes. We have elections. We have ballot papers with symbols of scales, rockets, circles, etc. to choose from.

On paper, since we've evolved all the way to the final and most sophisticated form of society, we should be thrilled that Malaysia has reached the end of history. Apparently we are a part of the Happy, Universal History of mankind. Let's have a McDonald Happy Meal!

Ain't 'good enough'

But after downing my junk food, I don't feel so good. It occurs to me that having the choice of scales, rockets, circles, etc. to choose from isn't good enough. We can't be satisfied with a "good enough" type of democracy. We can't be satisfied with a "good enough" society where we can get an education from a twinning programme, own a condominium and go on holidays. This just can't be as good as it gets even though we are a part of the end of history.

This is why I admire all the contributors to malaysiakini . In a disjointed and sometimes chaotic manner, we make up a rag tag opposition group. Ideally it is only when there is a vibrant and strong opposition, do we come closer to being an improved form of democracy.

We shouldn't feel so bad that we're disorganised and messy. We're not unlike the first Jamaican bobsled team at the Winter Olympics. There are others who are a little like us. Look at the liberal democracies of the US and the UK. John Kerry was incoherent to the average, dumbed down American. Ralph Nader was deluded. Michael Howard was red faced and contemptible. Charles Kennedy was sweet, lost and kept up all night looking after his newborn.

Still we continue to rant and rave for a better society. But we have to be vigilant and continually self-critical. The opposition is not about putting all the blame on the party in power. We cannot keep pointing fingers at the prime minister and always accuse him of being a lame duck, powerless against the insidious forces in his party.

We shouldn't even over-fixate on his public speaking skills as if our dear lives depended on it. On the other hand, I agree we shouldn't always cut him slack. We should instead be somewhere within the continuum of "too critical" and "roll over and play dead".

This then brings to mind what Fukuyama reminded us of Plato in the Republic. He noted that there were three parts to the soul, a desiring part, a reasoning part and a part that he called thymos, or "spiritedness".

Put another way when applied to Malaysian society, on average our souls have a desire for the good, consumerist life and we reason that we can acquire this through making profit and shutting up acquiescently whenever the government behaves badly. Sometimes, we can be so lame to the extent of lining up for free rendang at an open house. I'd rather pay for my own Big Mac.

As such, the average Malaysian is sometimes willing to compromise so much at the expense of his / her "spiritedness". This is a social phenomenon that the opposition needs to always remind itself of. As a consequence, we can't keep blaming the premier for everything that goes wrong all the time. While we may be a part of the opposition, we are also a part of what goes wrong.

'Holier than thou'

The opposition cannot afford to be "holier than thou". While it may make for great rhetoric on a soapbox, privately we need to remind ourselves of the problem of the parts of desire and reason in strangling the part of spiritedness.

Inevitably what I am arguing seems to be leading to a state of cooperation. I confess that I am by choice too far away from home to be physically and politically confronting the powers-that-be. But yes, I suppose that I am advocating for cooperation. I do not believe that the opposition has enough strength to strangle the parts of desire and reason in the average Malaysian soul.

I think that deep down the prime minister really does want to lead our society to a more democratic and equitable future. But we need to bring our spiritedness to the fore demanding for change thereby weakening our desire and reason.

In each and every little thing that we do, we can strengthen our spiritedness. It is only then that in long term, the opposition becomes a force to be reckoned with.

When she first started writing for malaysiakini , Treena Wu was working on her PhD in New York City. She has since moved to Geneva, Switzerland to carry out research in a think tank on the effectiveness of foreign aid. She enjoys the country's milk chocolates and clock work efficiency.