 In the Chūōkōron discussions as well the Kyoto School resolutely attempted to think from the “standpoint of world history.” Problematically, however, they asserted a leadership role for Japan in the present moment, which they viewed as a turning point in world history. If the standpoint of world history had indeed been first opened up by both Western universalism and imperialism, they argued, it was the non-Western nation of Japan that was in a unique position to free the world from the chains of the latter in order to realize the true potential of the former.