Canadian - Historian | December 23, 1943 -
Exercising power can do strange things to people. You can become convinced that you're irreplaceable. You can become convinced that you're always right. And I think the danger is the longer you stay in power, the more likely that is to happen.
Margaret MacMillan
PowerPeopleThinkYouBecomeRight
History is about great forces, yes, but also about contingency.
HistoryGreatYesForcesAboutAlso
The act of apology is something that most societies take very seriously indeed. It is an admission of wrong done to the victims and an acceptance of blame.
AcceptanceBlameWrongDoneApology
The word 'populism' was everywhere in 2016. Political leaders claiming to speak for the people have achieved significant victories in Europe, Asia, and, with the election of Donald Trump, the United States.
PeopleSpeakPoliticalElection
Nominally left- and right-wing populists differ primarily in their choice of which 'others' to exclude and attack, with the former singling out big corporations and oligarchs, and the latter targeting ethnic or religious minorities.
ChoiceOthersOutBigLeftAttack
History can be helpful in making sense of the world we live in. It can also be fascinating, even fun.
LiveHistoryFunWorldHelpfulEven
How can even the best novelist or playwright invent someone like Augustus Caesar or Catherine the Great, Galileo or Florence Nightingale? How can screenwriters create better action stories or human dramas than exist, thousand upon thousand, throughout the many centuries of recorded history?
HistoryGreatBestActionBetter
The passion for the past is clearly about more than market forces or government policies. History responds to a variety of needs, from greater understanding of ourselves and our world to answers about what to do.
PassionHistoryPastGovernmentMore
For many human beings, an interest in the past starts with themselves. That is, in part, a result of biology. Like other creatures, humans have a beginning and an ending, and in between lies their story.
BeginningPastEndingStoryResult
Our interest in history always reflects our own times.
HistoryAlwaysOwnInterestOur
I'm always wary of the lessons of the past. There's a lot of past out there, and you can draw whatever lessons you want.
PastYouWantAlwaysWhateverOut
In the 19th century, we didn't much like the loud annexationist voices south of the border or American support for Sinn Fein adventurers who thought, by seizing the Canadian colonies, they could force Britain out of Ireland.
SupportBorderThoughtAmericanOut
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Margaret MacMillan quotes