Barbara Tuchman, the historian, has...
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Barbara Tuchman, the historian, has given us a remarkable study of the failure of governments in her book The March of Folly, From Troy to Vietnam. The book records how governments have often pursued policies contrary to their self-interests. Administrators of governments of all sorts have ignored good counsel and common sense to pursue goals that inevitably spelled disaster. Tuchman uses classic examples to make her case, beginning with the Siege of Troy and the Trojan Horse. History is filled with other case histories of people like Napoleon and Hitler who ignored sound advice. Our folly was that we engaged ourselves in Vietnam, our longest and most unpopular war when it appeared that as a nation we knew so little of what we were doing. We should be able to learn from history's expensive lessons how to pursue the common good. History also teaches us that the prospects for the achievement of the common good are not very promising.
