THE LESSONS OF HISTORY by Will Durant and Ariel Durant

Authors: Will and Ariel Durant (Husband & Wife) were American writers, historians and philosophers who spent over 40 years writing “The Story of Civilization”. They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Book: This short book is a compendium of history and philosophy. It explores the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. The book examines from 12 perspectives the main themes and lessons observed over more than 5,000 years. These are divided into Geography, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, growth and decay, and progress.

Opinion: This is a very interesting reading. I liked the way in which they make some comparisons through time, as well as the broad number of topics covered. Many of the lessons might seem obvious, however, I think they’re still worth reading and rethinking. Some parts of the book could be somewhat polemic for many, such as their view of inequality and biology, i.e., “Utopias of equality are biologically doomed, and the best that the amiable philosopher can hope for is an approximate equality of legal justice and educational opportunity.” Probably the quote I liked most is “History is inflationary, and money is the last thing a wise man will hoard” (See picture 4). Finally, I don’t like their view on rights. (See picture 5). I more inclined towards a naturalistic view on them (See Rothbard, Hermann-Hoppe, Kirzner or Nozick).

Key Stats: - Pages: 102 - Level: Beginner - Mark: 9/10