--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best use of history is as an…" description: "\"The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering disappointments.\" — George Will" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png" --- # The best use of history is as an inoculation against… ![“The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering disappointments.” quote by George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png) > “The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering disappointments.” [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History should temper extreme hopes to prevent harsh disappointment later. **In simple terms:** History tempers extreme hopes. Key Takeaway Learn from past to manage expectations. Themes history expectations disappointment learning Mood reflective cautious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal planning - policy making - education - risk assessment Key Concepts political philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we use history to set realistic goals? - What expectations are too radical? A Different Perspective History alone cannot change present conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Embittering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embittering-356641/) [Embittering Disappointments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embittering-disappointments-4832157/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Expectations Embittering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations-embittering-4832155/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Inoculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-inoculation-4832158/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Radical Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical-expectations-4832156/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“It is hope--with regard to our careers, our love lives, our children, our politicians, and our planet--that is primarily to blame for angering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-hope-with-regard-to-our-careers-our-love-lives-our-children-our/) [alain de botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is a hard, embittering thing to have one's kind feelings and good intentions cast back in one's teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/it-is-a-hard-embittering-thing-to-have-one-s-kind-feelings-and-good/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Theology isn't what drove them to their...theology." author writes on dealing with the embittering experience of those who protect a wounded place with abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/theology-isn-t-what-drove-them-to-their-theology-author-writes-on/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [“The truth is, most wisdom is embittering. The task of the wise person cannot be to pretend with false naiveté that every moment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lopate/the-truth-is-most-wisdom-is-embittering-the-task-of-the-wise-person/) [Philip Lopate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lopate/) > [One radical free spirit nonconformist is pretty much like another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/one-radical-free-spirit-nonconformist-is-pretty-much-like-another/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Learning what to want is the most radical, the most painful and the most creative art of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-vickers/learning-what-to-want-is-the-most-radical-the-most-painful-and-the/) [Geoffrey Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-vickers/) > [The most radical, audacious thing to think is that there might be some point to working hard and thinking hard and reading hard and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-radical-audacious-thing-to-think-is-that-there-might-be-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am and I will remain a populist, because those who listen to the people are doing their job, whereas the radical chic who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-salvini/i-am-and-i-will-remain-a-populist-because-those-who-listen-to-the/) [Matteo Salvini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-salvini/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“We have to get over this notion, which many of us are taught early, that your soul is in your body. Because if your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-bucko/we-have-to-get-over-this-notion-which-many-of-us-are-taught-early/) [Adam Bucko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-bucko/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [In Japan, there has always been a small number of musicians who have been outspoken on social issues, but they tend to be dismissed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryuichi-sakamoto/in-japan-there-has-always-been-a-small-number-of-musicians-who-have/) [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryuichi-sakamoto/) > [Former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the radical Islamist mullahs ruling Iran share many similarities, but honesty and negotiating in good faith are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/former-libyan-dictator-moammar-gadhafi-and-the-radical-islamist/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) ## More by George Will > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [A politician's words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/a-politician-s-words-reveal-less-about-what-he-thinks-about-his/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [As has been said, standards are always out of date - that is why we call them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/as-has-been-said-standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-is-why-we-call/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. It is labeled a "nondairy" product. Fine: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/hart-is-still-like-that-little-tub-of-vaguely-milklike-gunk-that/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The realistic way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in money -- the importance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-realistic-way-to-reduce-the-amount-of-money-in-politics-is-to/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Greek philosophers considered sport a religious and civic-in a word, moral-undertaking. Sport, they said, is morally serious because mankind's noblest aim is the loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/greek-philosophers-considered-sport-a-religious-and-civic-in-a-word/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [When I'm in my car, I'm listening to books, audio books, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/when-i-m-in-my-car-i-m-listening-to-books-audio-books-always/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/just-as-the-common-law-derives-from-ancient-precedents-judges/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/football-combines-two-of-the-worst-things-in-american-life-it-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I've lived in Washington now for 44 years, and that's a lot of folly to witness up close. Whatever confidence and optimism I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/i-ve-lived-in-washington-now-for-44-years-and-that-s-a-lot-of-folly/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-business-of-america-is-not-business-neither-is-it-war-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Freedom is not only the absence of external restraints. It is also the absence of irresistible internal compulsions, unmanageable passion, and uncensorable highlights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/freedom-is-not-only-the-absence-of-external-restraints-it-is-also-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) [Explore all 279 George Will quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## More Disappointment quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [“My earthly body has been a terrible disappointment to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/my-earthly-body-has-been-a-terrible-disappointment-to-me/) [Frédéric Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The fear of not being good enough, the fear of disappointing other people and the fear of failure can really hurt one's personality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/the-fear-of-not-being-good-enough-the-fear-of-disappointing-other/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [In trying not to disappoint others; we disappoint ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/in-trying-not-to-disappoint-others-we-disappoint-ourselves/) [Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-still-many-more-days-of-failure-ahead-whole-seasons-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [In all disappointments sympathy is a great balm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-all-disappointments-sympathy-is-a-great-balm/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [It is sometimes said that because of our past we, as a people, expect too much and set our sights too high. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-is-sometimes-said-that-because-of-our-past-we-as-a-people-expect/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I'm talking to anyone who has been dumped - have not gotten the job you really wanted or have received those horrible rejection letters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/i-m-talking-to-anyone-who-has-been-dumped-have-not-gotten-the-job-you/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Stop blaming others, whatever happens to you is nobody's fault if you get hurt because of disappointment is not the end of your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/stop-blaming-others-whatever-happens-to-you-is-nobody-s-fault-if-you/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [When disappointments knock you down, get back up and go again because out of our greatest rejection comes our greatest direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-disappointments-knock-you-down-get-back-up-and-go-again-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,467 Disappointment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering disappointments.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Will" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inoculation-against-radical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disappointment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inoculation-against-radical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/george-will-1177_disappointment_the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inocula_2200689.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering…” — George Will", "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": "George Will", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best use of history is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inoculation-against-radical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-best-use-of-history-is-as-an-inoculation-against-radical/#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 } } ] } ```