Welcome to the analysis of a book called Why don't we learn from history? Written by BH Liddell Hart.
This book is a collection of lessons that BH Liddell Hart, a former soldier and historian, had prepared and later published by his son Adrian J. Liddell Hart
Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (31 October 1895 - 29 January 1970), was a British army captain and military historian. He wrote various books on military tactics and pointed out the mistakes that had been made in the war and had caused great harm.
His military training was used by the armies of various countries during the first and second world wars.
The book has three parts, history and reality, government and freedom and war and peace. The analysis will have two parts, the first part will have an analysis of the first two parts of the book and the second part will have an analysis of the third part and a conclusion.
Welcome to the analysis of this book, let’s learn how governments, the military and even individuals have been repeating mistakes due to not learning from history.
Introduction from the author.
Writing about history is a difficult and tedious task. That's because knowing the truth requires someone to put in extra work.
History has been dominated by lies, and many writers and historians are forced to write untruths, especially when their lives depend on pleasing others.
It takes a person to be financially independent in life so that you can seek the truth and write what is true without being pressured by anyone.
History writing takes time and patience because when you touch one thing, you discover it is connected to many other things, all of which you have to examine in detail to know its truth.
Despite the difficulty of writing about history, there are its benefits which are as follows;
1. It is something that motivates a person as he continues to explore and learn.
2. It is a job that gives the mind practice and thus prevents it from growing old quickly.
3. It is a work whose benefits last a long time.
History is not only important to nations, but it is also important to the individual as it helps us to build a personal philosophy and prevent us from repeating the mistakes of others while helping us to be wise.
The ancient historian Polybius once observed that the best way to learn is by means of error and by accident.
History gives us a chance to learn that and gives us hope that no matter how difficult things may be, they always have an end, after a thick darkness is light.
History has great benefits for the individual, for the nation and for the world at large. If we want to have a better life, avoid repeating the mistakes made by others and be optimistic when we go through difficult times, we should learn from history.
Value of history.
The main purpose of history is truth, to know what happened and why it happened. In other words, the purpose of history is to know the relationships and causes of various events.
For history to be accurate and useful, it must be based on truth, something that requires work and values to manage it. Most people do not like the truth, because they do not flatter or fulfill their personal preferences.
History has its limitations, and although it may show us the direction, it cannot give us an idea of what the path will be like. But this limit does not make history irrelevant, but it does become a caution that one must have when learning through history.
History shows us what we should avoid, even if it does not teach us what to do, it will show us the mistakes that others have made so that we do not repeat them.
Bismarck has been quoted as saying; "Fools say they learn by experience, I prefer to learn through the experience of others." It is through history that we can learn from the experiences of others, looking at the mistakes they made so that we do not repeat them and make mistakes like them.
Many societies have considered the age of man to be a measure of wisdom, that the older one has more experience and thus become more wise. But if you look through history, that cannot be true, an older person who uses his personal experience, may not be wise compared to a younger person who is learning from history.
If a person is 80 years old and uses his personal experience, he will be overwhelmed by a 40-year-old who has studied the history of the last 3 thousand years. Personal experience alone is not enough, history has so much to learn that one person cannot go through it all on his own experience.
The author says that if a person can read and write, it is negligence if his mind is not more than three thousand years old.
It was Polybius who said that there are two ways to build society, the first through his own mistakes and the second through the mistakes of others. The first method is difficult and painful, the second method is simple and painless. The knowledge that one acquires by learning through history is the best knowledge in life.
History is a record of the actions and mistakes of man. It shows us that steps are often slowed down but mistakes happen quickly. It gives us the opportunity to learn and benefit from the mistakes of our predecessors.
Many make mistakes and consider history as a subject that concerns only historians, but history is something that touches every aspect of our lives and therefore applies to everyone. For any profession and industry, there are people before us who made various mistakes, learning through them prevents us from repeating their mistakes.
Scientific methods.
To be able to face the challenges and problems of the world, to be able to see them as they really are, to analyze them and to reach reality, scientific methods are needed.
Then one has to give up the privilege he has and be willing to question and question everything instead of accepting what it is.
One must be willing to criticize oneself and push oneself to seek the truth instead of taking it for granted.
The first goal in history should be truth and the way to achieve that truth is to use scientific methods.
When a person hears anything that contradicts him or criticizes what he stands for, he should not deny it first, but should ask himself this question; is it true The question prompts him to dig for the truth, to set aside his preferences and to approach the matter as if it were new to him.
One should not oppose or reject an idea because of the qualifications of the person who gave the idea or agree with the object because it was given by the authorities. But one has to do research to find out if something is true, because the truth becomes clear when the right ways are followed.
If a person agrees with something simply because it should not be questioned, that person is acknowledging that the object is not true. The truth does not need to be protected or defended, the truth is clear and when examined it remains the truth. But a lie knows when you are investigated you will be identified, so great power is used to protect you from being questioned or investigated.
The first step in reaching the truth is to have doubts about everything that you have not proved. Chang-Tsai's teaching explains: “If you can be skeptical when others are unsure, you are in a position to take action.
Fear of the truth.
We learn from history that in every age, most people are on the wrong side of the truth. Many accept what they are told by the authorities without question, because the authorities tend to favor the obedience of the people and if the people know the truth, they will not have the obedience that those authorities want.
We learn more from history that when the truth is hidden, the results obtained are not good. All the great harm that has happened to the world, began with the concealment of the truth.
When some things are considered sacred and taboo to be questioned, then lies get a chance to grow and cause great harm. The truth is that they are not afraid to be questioned or investigated.
Many people are afraid of the truth because they know it distorts the facts they have already built, so they continue to feed themselves and believe lies so as not to shake what they have believed all their lives.
The surest way to make life better is for a person to face life by opening his eyes and seeking the truth, instead of going to life as a blind or drunkard.
Very rarely will you meet someone whose first question to every one you face is; is it true If the question has not become part of the person, it is clear that the truth is not a priority for the person and taking action will be difficult for him or her.
The greatest danger to life is when history is distorted and facts are hidden to give people a certain hope. It is a mistake that can have serious consequences but has been repeated over and over again.
Governments or institutions with good intentions may choose to conceal certain facts in order to prevent the citizens from becoming embittered and discouraged, but that often has serious consequences for the hidden truth.
The truth should not be hidden in any way, the truth should be clear because it is the only way for people to be free.
Dictatorial trends.
We learn from history that dictators tend to follow a similar pattern.
In coming into power;
1. It shows the existing or pre-existing rule was not good or created animosity between groups of people.2. It promises great and infinite things, which they often do not come to fulfill.3. They do not claim to want absolute power for a short period of time, in order to straighten the country, but once they have gained that power they do not relinquish it.4. They create a situation for the people to feel sorry for them by plotting against him and thus demanding more power. You want people to feel sorry for you because they are giving of themselves and their commitment puts them at risk.
In retaining power.
1. They begin to remove those who helped them come to power and show that they are traitors.
2. It suppresses criticism and punishes all those who oppose or criticize their policies, even if what they say is true.
3. They put religion on their side and ensure that religious leaders are obedient to them and when the failure of the existing religions they are ready to stimulate the establishment of new religions that fulfill their aspirations.
4. They spend public money on big and tangible projects and boast of having brought development as compensation for the freedom they have looted from the public.
5. They play with the currency and make the country's economy appear to be growing well in contrast to reality.
6. They often start wars or hostilities with other nations or promote certain conflicts as a way to keep people from seeing the reality of what is going on inside. He uses that method to transfer the anger of the people from his leadership to the fabricated enemy.
7. He emphasizes patriotism and uses it as a way to make people obedient to him, those who oppose him seem to be not patriotic.
8. It builds self-esteem and does what pleases people just to keep it in power, something that leads to their downfall.
This trend has been repeated since time immemorial and still people have not learned early and taken appropriate action.
Incorrect dynamics.
Despite the great progress the world has made, especially in the democratic system, there have been some inaccurate dynamics that the author was seeing in his time. Such dynamics so far exist and have not been a good indicator.
1. Bureaucracy has become a major factor that delays the reach of various decisions.2. Some leaders have been building self-esteem and using it to suppress democracy.3. Many elections have not been as free and fair as democracy requires.4. Propaganda has been abundant in persuading the people to agree on certain things, they see it as their decision but they have been affected by propaganda.5. Control of the dissemination of knowledge and information has become a major factor in the risk of access to the truth.
The democratic system should be protected by everyone because it is easy for people to abuse it and pursue their interests and even change the system to be dictatorial.
Indicators of this are numerous for the era in which we live.
Friend, please read the full analysis of this book which shows us how we do not learn from history and thus repeat the same mistakes.
){kind=link}
0 Comments