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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: epicure who wrote (140244)	7/14/2004 10:50:55 AM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (2) of 281500

OT -- Let's start with some basics... On the more ancient front: How did the Romans manage to maintain the huge empire of their time? Why were they successful? The Romans and Persians fought for more than 800 years, who won and what was its effect on the world? When did monogamy become popular and why? Why is it against religion to marry your cousins? (side question: time warp to modern times, how does this affect the situation in Iraq) . Moving to more modern times... . When did the majority of Europeans turn into Christianity, what was the driving forces behind it, and why? What were the major factors behind the downfall of city states in Europe and the formation of modern sovereign States? Who first suggested that the country should be defended by local militia (rather than hired mercenaries) and why? Did he get anywhere? (side question: how does this compare with the present day policy of US to allow non-citizens to join the army in exchange for accelerated citizenship?) Why did socialism take root, who were the supporters of Russian Revolution and why? Did they get what they wanted and why? How did this affect the rest of the world? Why did China become Communist? Why does it continue to remain Communist? . Questions like these go to the heart of modern political systems. You don't have to answer them. I am not trying to put you on the spot. I am saying that wisdom that study of history is supposed to bring is often lost on the students. As a result many tend to view history as a bunch of interesting but useless factoids. A proper history course takes the student back in time and allows him to (as muchas possible) "experience" life in a different era and question why things went the way they did. When I was in high school often I wondered about all the military conquests and why the states and their subjects behaved as they did. It was not until years later when I played an extensive computer game (more like a simulation that took into account socio-political, economic, technology, and personal character) that I understood some of the whys. It turned out changing the path of history was fairly hard, even with the benefit of hindsight.

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