--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As history reminds us again and again…" description: "\"As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always made on the basis of rational calculations: often the contrary.\" — Margaret MacMillan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg" --- # As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always… ![“As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always made on the basis of rational calculations: often the contrary.” quote by Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg) > “As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always made on the basis of rational calculations: often the contrary.” [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wars often stem from irrational motives, not just logical calculations, highlighting the unpredictable nature of conflict. **In simple terms:** Wars are not always rational. Key Takeaway Recognize emotional and irrational drivers in conflicts. Themes conflict irrationality history politics Mood reflective serious Type analytical historical When to use this quote - diplomatic negotiations - military planning - public policy - conflict resolution Key Concepts human psychology strategic miscalculation Questions to Reflect On - How do emotions shape geopolitical decisions? - What examples show irrational causes of war? A Different Perspective Rational analysis alone cannot predict all wars. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Calculations Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculations-contrary-1277416/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Reminds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-reminds-1048000/) [Reminds Wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminds-wars-1277414/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wars/) [Wars Basis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wars-basis-1277415/) ## Related quotes > [History reminds us, however, that good doesn't always prevail. Not against Russia anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/history-reminds-us-however-that-good-doesn-t-always-prevail-not/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [The attitude of the English towards English history reminds one a good deal of the attitude of a Hollywood director towards love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-attitude-of-the-english-towards-english-history-reminds-one-a/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [“History reminds us of the inherent weakness in the human condition and the very real possibility that our fellow human beings are capable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fea/history-reminds-us-of-the-inherent-weakness-in-the-human-condition/) [John Fea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fea/) > [As contemporary history reminds us we are human to the extent that we are able to chose between alternatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-d-clark/as-contemporary-history-reminds-us-we-are-human-to-the-extent-that-we/) [John G. D. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-d-clark/) > [History reminds us that revolutions are not events, so much that they’re processes – that for tens of thousands of years, people have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/history-reminds-us-that-revolutions-are-not-events-so-much-that-they/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I had this almost secret life of going to 'Star Wars' conventions because,' when I was younger, Star Wars' had phased into the uncool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/i-had-this-almost-secret-life-of-going-to-star-wars-conventions/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [He likes 'Confetti,' and he doesn't like 'Star Wars.' I think that just relieves us from the burden of ever having to take Mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/he-likes-confetti-and-he-doesn-t-like-star-wars-i-think-that-just/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [Wars of any magnitude release powerful social and economic forces which can change the whole face of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/wars-of-any-magnitude-release-powerful-social-and-economic-forces/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The greatest of all crimes are the wars that are carried on by governments, to plunder, enslave, and destroy mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-greatest-of-all-crimes-are-the-wars-that-are-carried-on-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [“There are trials and mistakes and even wars along the path of marriage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-callahan-henry/there-are-trials-and-mistakes-and-even-wars-along-the-path-of-marriage/) [Patti Callahan Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-callahan-henry/) > [I agree that mommy wars are not good for any mothers: that such wars are time and effort wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-tsing-loh/i-agree-that-mommy-wars-are-not-good-for-any-mothers-that-such-wars/) [Sandra Tsing Loh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-tsing-loh/) > [Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/things-that-appear-on-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper-as-fact-are-far/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [No more wars, no more bloodshed, and no more threats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/no-more-wars-no-more-bloodshed-and-no-more-threats/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have a war on women, race wars. Income wars, age wars, religious wars, anything you can imagine. A house divided against itself cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/we-have-a-war-on-women-race-wars-income-wars-age-wars-religious-wars/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) ## More by Margaret MacMillan > [Some might argue humans are hard-wired to fight. I don't agree: we are conscious beings who have the capacity to make decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/some-might-argue-humans-are-hard-wired-to-fight-i-don-t-agree-we-are/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [I wish we could see understanding the First World War as a European issue, or even a global one, and not a nationalistic one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-wish-we-could-see-understanding-the-first-world-war-as-a-european/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Theodore Roosevelt's policy to build a two-ocean navy confirmed that the old-style isolationism of the founders had not survived the modern, increasingly globalized world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/theodore-roosevelt-s-policy-to-build-a-two-ocean-navy-confirmed-that/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Individual lives remind us that there is something called a common humanity and that, over the centuries, there have been people who have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/individual-lives-remind-us-that-there-is-something-called-a-common/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“There are only two perfectly useless things in the world,” he quipped. “One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-the-world-he-quipped/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“Nationalist movements often overlapped with economic and class issues: Rumanian and Ruthenian peasants, for example, challenged their Hungarian and Polish landlords.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/nationalist-movements-often-overlapped-with-economic-and-class-issues/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [How curious that such an outsize man, in physique as well as personality, should be remembered today mainly for giving his name to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/how-curious-that-such-an-outsize-man-in-physique-as-well-as/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“Part of Nietzsche’s appeal was that it was easy to read a great deal into his work, and people including socialists, vegetarians, feminists, conservatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/part-of-nietzsche-s-appeal-was-that-it-was-easy-to-read-a-great-deal/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The Great War was nobody's fault - or everybody's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-great-war-was-nobody-s-fault-or-everybody-s/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [If we do not, as historians, write the history of great events as well as the small stories that make up the past, others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/if-we-do-not-as-historians-write-the-history-of-great-events-as-well/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Many in the English-speaking world came to agree with the Germans that the Treaty of Versailles, and the reparations in particular, were unjust, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/many-in-the-english-speaking-world-came-to-agree-with-the-germans/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Women are interested in relationships and how other societies manage those relationships. They may have been constrained in what roles were open to them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/women-are-interested-in-relationships-and-how-other-societies-manage/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Managing the relationship with a giant neighbour has been central to our foreign policy for more than a century. Trade and investment, as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/managing-the-relationship-with-a-giant-neighbour-has-been-central-to/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [I like to think I'm a recovering historian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-like-to-think-i-m-a-recovering-historian/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) [Explore all 98 Margaret MacMillan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) ## More Again quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I say this about everything: when I was on 'Neighbours,' I said, 'These are the best years of my life!' When I was filming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/i-say-this-about-everything-when-i-was-on-neighbours-i-said-these-are/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [I don't know about writing. It's quite lonely. You have to have a lot of patience with yourself. I don't know if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wilson/i-don-t-know-about-writing-it-s-quite-lonely-you-have-to-have-a-lot/) [Ruth Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wilson/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [You couldn't get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [In theater, one of the biggest problems when you're rehearsing comedy over and over again is that you stop laughing at each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ashley-carter/in-theater-one-of-the-biggest-problems-when-you-re-rehearsing-comedy/) [Lauren Ashley Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ashley-carter/) > [I'd like to do some female roles again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/i-d-like-to-do-some-female-roles-again/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know - it's everywhere. You could be next. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/death-is-a-sniper-it-strikes-people-you-love-people-you-like-people/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Well, a lot of our concerts do okay, and I know we still get royalty checks which still isn't that important, but again, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-johnston/well-a-lot-of-our-concerts-do-okay-and-i-know-we-still-get-royalty/) [Bruce Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-johnston/) > [Oh wow, you know what's wrong with all these families on TV? All these kids say stuff no kid would say. Stuff grown-ups want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/oh-wow-you-know-what-s-wrong-with-all-these-families-on-tv-all-these/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [We must resist the temptation of once again turning America into the traditional bogeyman of the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-napolitano/we-must-resist-the-temptation-of-once-again-turning-america-into-the/) [Giorgio Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-napolitano/) > [We won the Europa League in 2013 and it was an amazing night, an amazing feeling. I take those memories and think to myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-cahill/we-won-the-europa-league-in-2013-and-it-was-an-amazing-night-an/) [Gary Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-cahill/) > [The coronavirus has yet again exposed the strong contrast between President Trump - who is working ardently for the American people - and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/the-coronavirus-has-yet-again-exposed-the-strong-contrast-between/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) [Browse all 2,975 Again quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always made on the basis of rational calculations: often the contrary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret MacMillan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wars-are-not-always-made-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Again" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wars-are-not-always-made-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/margaret-macmillan-5907_again_as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wa_904903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As history reminds us again and again, wars are not always made on the basis of rational calculations: often…” — Margaret MacMillan", "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": "Margaret MacMillan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As history reminds us again and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wars-are-not-always-made-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/as-history-reminds-us-again-and-again-wars-are-not-always-made-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```