Position:Home>History> How does one go about using history to inform others in current policy debate?

History should always be broken up into what happened when and why and then give the significance of this event to other events to come!. It is not enough to know that an event happened!. It is not enough to know the players involved or the timing of things!. It is not enough to know the outcome!. Now a days, you need to know the significance of how one thing related to the other!.

Assume, they did not create the atomic bomb, how much longer would WW2 have persisted!? What would have happened to the economy!? What would have happened to Interment Camps and their effect on cultural relations!? What would have happened to the US economy!. What would have happened to the Cold War with Russia and the Chinese Communist revolution!. Would there be an Israel!? Would Japan be the economic powerhouse it is if the cost of WW2 had made rebuilding Japanese infrastructure the way it was cost prohibitive!?

I am thinking you need to explain the butterfly effect of history and how a small action like one man not showing up for work one day can send an entire company into a tizzy and perhaps change market positions for the world!.

Try this one!. They don't give Donald Trump time to correct his finances in the 80's and financial institutions and accounting firms and real estate holding companies fall by the way side much like what happened with Enron in the 90's!.

It is a chess match and you have to judge the possible moves in front of you and the dominoe effects of those moves!. You are teaching strategy and the cheapest way to figure out strategy is to study history because most strategies are based on philosophies that have been employed before!.

Study who were the top economists at a given time and that explains many of the marketing decisions and trade policies!.

Study current events and you can figure out most of the popular entertainment in the world!.

Look at an author's personal history and you can see why they write in the manner they do!. It also helps to know their teachers!.

The point is if you want to explain the significance of history all you need do is start with the significance of history!.

People can drink but not do drugs in the US, not because one is more offensive than the other but because less crime was related to drugs than to alcohol during prohibition!. They were both made illegal at the exact same time but mob activity and bootlegging made alcohol a hot topic!. Drugs were not so hot!. Had the situation been reversed drugs would be legal and alcohol would no longer be allowed!. Yet another example of lookig for significance!.

Fidel Castro did not have a great fast ball and never made it as a professional pitcher!.

Adolf Hitler was poor and ill educated as a painter so he went into propaganda!.

Xerox let Bill Gates have their Mouse designs and Steve Jobs let Gates see Apple's programming and so Windows was born!.

Teach them about significance and if necessary probability and dynamics and it will all make sense!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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