The Lessons of History

georgewhatup reviewed The Lessons of History by Will Durant

Review of 'The Lessons of History' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

The writing is clear and concise but the surprisingly childish view of history is genuinely insulting.

This is the first thing I've read of theirs so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt in their wider work. I assume they have produced some great bits of writing on specific areas of history where they're safe from making the mistake of naively broad generalisations justified via highly selective cherry picking.

But this book? It's a disgrace to the study of history.

Matthew Royal reviewed The Lessons of History by Will Durant

Review of 'The Lessons of History' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I used to think this book was brilliant. Now I see I liked it because of its certainty in its correctness. As a model of history, it's not incorrect, but it’s definitely just one perspective, and one that precludes many other valid paths into the future.

“Utopias of equality are biologically doomed."

"Inequality is not only natural and inborn, it grows with the complexity of civilization.”

“We are acquisitive, greedy, and pugnacious because our blood remembers millenniums through which our forebears had to chase and fight and kill in order to survive, and had to eat to their gastric capacity for fear they should not soon capture another feast. War is a nation’s way of eating.” p. 18

War is not the only table at which social organisms can feed. Trade is a far more bountiful feast than war, which can only consume what already exists. Trade produces new things …

I used to think this book was brilliant. Now I see I liked it because of its certainty in its correctness. As a model of history, it's not incorrect, but it’s definitely just one perspective, and one that precludes many other valid paths into the future.

“Utopias of equality are biologically doomed."

"Inequality is not only natural and inborn, it grows with the complexity of civilization.”

“We are acquisitive, greedy, and pugnacious because our blood remembers millenniums through which our forebears had to chase and fight and kill in order to survive, and had to eat to their gastric capacity for fear they should not soon capture another feast. War is a nation’s way of eating.” p. 18

War is not the only table at which social organisms can feed. Trade is a far more bountiful feast than war, which can only consume what already exists. Trade produces new things through creativity and cross-pollination; trade is not a zero-sum game like war: it increases in size and value exponentially following network effects.