--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think if you're going to master policy…" description: "\"I think if you're going to master policy, especially world affairs, you've got to know history.\" — Charles Krauthammer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png" --- # I think if you're going to master policy, especially world… ![“I think if you're going to master policy, especially world affairs, you've got to know history.” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png) > “I think if you're going to master policy, especially world affairs, you've got to know history.” [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mastery of policy and world affairs requires deep historical understanding. **In simple terms:** History informs policy. Key Takeaway Study history to shape better policies. Themes policy history world affairs Mood instructive serious Type educational strategic When to use this quote - government - diplomacy - education - strategic planning Key Concepts causality learning from past Questions to Reflect On - What historical lessons are most relevant today? - How can we avoid repeating past mistakes? A Different Perspective History can be interpreted subjectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Going Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-master-2004555/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Know History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-history/) [Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master/) [Master Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master-policy-2161835/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Policy Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy-especially-2051535/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-affairs/) ## Related quotes > [Tweeting first and asking questions later is not a good way to make policy - especially in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/tweeting-first-and-asking-questions-later-is-not-a-good-way-to-make/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [“You changed your name again? You've probably been going from one master to the next, huh? -Veratos to Hysterica”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nozomu-tamaki/you-changed-your-name-again-you-ve-probably-been-going-from-one/) [Nozomu Tamaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nozomu-tamaki/) > [If you don't master money, it's going to master you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/if-you-don-t-master-money-it-s-going-to-master-you/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Government can't do everything, but there is a role for government and smart policy, especially in equalizing opportunities for folks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tubbs/government-can-t-do-everything-but-there-is-a-role-for-government-and/) [Michael Tubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tubbs/) > [There’s no more morality in world affairs, fundamentally, than there was at the time of Genghis Khan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-no-more-morality-in-world-affairs-fundamentally-than-there/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't have a fear and urgency feeling inside myself about the state of the world affairs and everything collapsing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/i-don-t-have-a-fear-and-urgency-feeling-inside-myself-about-the-state/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Thou shalt not answer questionnaires Or quizzes upon world affairs, Nor with compliance Take any test. Thou shalt not sit with statisticians nor commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/thou-shalt-not-answer-questionnaires-or-quizzes-upon-world-affairs/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [We must be prepared to see an Association of Nations in conference growing into an organic system of world controls for world affairs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/we-must-be-prepared-to-see-an-association-of-nations-in-conference/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“There is more going on, then, than the clumsy interventions of the west in Iraq and Afghanistan and the use of pressure in Ukraine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/there-is-more-going-on-then-than-the-clumsy-interventions-of-the-west/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [The rising power of the United States in world affairs requires, not a more compliant press, but a relentless barrage of facts and criticism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-reston/the-rising-power-of-the-united-states-in-world-affairs-requires-not-a/) [James Reston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-reston/) > [Only together do Europe and the U.S. stand a chance of keeping liberal democracy as the central doctrine for organizing world affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-ponta/only-together-do-europe-and-the-u-s-stand-a-chance-of-keeping-liberal/) [Victor Ponta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-ponta/) > [It is not love, or morality, or international law that determines the outcome of world affairs, but the changing distribution of organized force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-woodruff/it-is-not-love-or-morality-or-international-law-that-determines-the/) [William Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-woodruff/) > [A new chapter in the history of international politics has begun, one in which the pursuit and control of energy resources would be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-klare/a-new-chapter-in-the-history-of-international-politics-has-begun-one/) [Michael Klare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-klare/) > [The absolute necessity to create a proper Earth government' - we should inscribe this as the priority item on the agenda of world affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-muller/the-absolute-necessity-to-create-a-proper-earth-government-we-should/) [Robert Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-muller/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) ## More by Charles Krauthammer > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. No nation since Cyrus the Great’s Persia has done more for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/america-is-the-most-welcoming-religiously-tolerant-philo-semitic/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I believe in what I believe, and I think after all these years I've heard a lot of arguments, and I'm convinced by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-believe-in-what-i-believe-and-i-think-after-all-these-years-i-ve/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## More Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-ripped-the-sketch-from-the-wall-liar-edward-looked-more-ravaged/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 2,218 Affair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think if you're going to master policy, especially world affairs, you've got to know history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Krauthammer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy-especially-world-affairs-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy-especially-world-affairs-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/charles-krauthammer-1232_affair_i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy_2627375.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think if you're going to master policy, especially world affairs, you've got to know history.” — Charles Krauthammer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Krauthammer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think if you're going to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy-especially-world-affairs-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-master-policy-especially-world-affairs-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```