Post by Souriquois on Oct 8, 2017 0:16:46 GMT -4
Had to pick this up, the book was trending on Twitter:
Apparently Justin Trudeau gave Donald Trump a copy of this book as a gift before the third round of NAFTA talks. LOL
An overview:
Well played, sir!
Now, if only Trump could read. I have my doubts.
Apparently Justin Trudeau gave Donald Trump a copy of this book as a gift before the third round of NAFTA talks. LOL
An overview:
The book starts with the 1900 Paris world's fair and the Belle Epoque.
That world was unprecedentedly interconnected by railways and the telegraph. Trade skyrocketed. Germany and England even traded weapons. People lived longer, healthier lives. New international mechanisms were created to settle disputes. Countries signed arbitration agreements, refined international rules of war and even talked about creating global governance bodies.
The book describes a growing belief that war itself was becoming obsolete, quoting one author: "People no (more) believed in the possibility of barbaric relapses ... (than) in ghosts and witches'.''
But these were also disruptive times.
Economies underwent radical transformations and workers left farms for new manufacturing jobs in the cities.
Terrorism was rampant. Anarchists had killed, bombed, stabbed and shot a French president, two Spanish prime ministers, an Italian king, a U.S. president, an Austrian empress, a Russian statesman and a Russian royal.
MacMillan writes of the militaristic backlash. People fumed about the new softness of European men, responding with military-themed organizations for boys. Politicians increasingly wore uniforms in public.
Traditional politicians were booted from power.
Classical parties were demolished by "chauvinistic nationalist parties... A new breed of politicians was going outside established parliamentary institutions to appeal to popular fears and prejudices and their populism ... frequently included anti-Semitism.''
That world was unprecedentedly interconnected by railways and the telegraph. Trade skyrocketed. Germany and England even traded weapons. People lived longer, healthier lives. New international mechanisms were created to settle disputes. Countries signed arbitration agreements, refined international rules of war and even talked about creating global governance bodies.
The book describes a growing belief that war itself was becoming obsolete, quoting one author: "People no (more) believed in the possibility of barbaric relapses ... (than) in ghosts and witches'.''
But these were also disruptive times.
Economies underwent radical transformations and workers left farms for new manufacturing jobs in the cities.
Terrorism was rampant. Anarchists had killed, bombed, stabbed and shot a French president, two Spanish prime ministers, an Italian king, a U.S. president, an Austrian empress, a Russian statesman and a Russian royal.
MacMillan writes of the militaristic backlash. People fumed about the new softness of European men, responding with military-themed organizations for boys. Politicians increasingly wore uniforms in public.
Traditional politicians were booted from power.
Classical parties were demolished by "chauvinistic nationalist parties... A new breed of politicians was going outside established parliamentary institutions to appeal to popular fears and prejudices and their populism ... frequently included anti-Semitism.''
Now, if only Trump could read. I have my doubts.