--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm interested in the balance between big…" description: "\"I'm interested in the balance between big currents in history - the economies, the ideologies, social structures, and so on - and the decisions that pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg" --- # I'm interested in the balance between big currents in… ![“I'm interested in the balance between big currents in history - the economies, the ideologies, social structures, and so on - and the decisions that people have to make. At the heart of all these great decisions to go to war, there are human beings who have to say, 'Yes, let's do it,' or 'No, we…” quote by Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg) > “I'm interested in the balance between big currents in history - the economies, the ideologies, social structures, and so on - and the decisions that people have to make. At the heart of all these great decisions to go to war, there are human beings who have to say, 'Yes, let's do it,' or 'No, we won't do it.'” [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. Historical forces shape decisions, yet individuals ultimately choose to go to war or not. **In simple terms:** Big forces vs. personal choice. Key Takeaway Acknowledge personal agency. Themes history war decision making human agency structure Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - policy planning - military strategy - education - public debate Key Concepts political science ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance systemic forces with personal responsibility? - What ethical limits should guide wartime decisions? A Different Perspective Structural pressures can limit options. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Decisions People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions-people/) [Decisions War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions-war-3097366/) [Economies Ideologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economies-ideologies-4694990/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great Decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-decisions-322099/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I don't believe war is a way to solve problems. I think it's wrong. I don't have respect for the people that made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/i-don-t-believe-war-is-a-way-to-solve-problems-i-think-it-s-wrong-i/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [Maybe we should always show pictures. Bin Laden, pictures of our wounded service people, pictures of maimed innocent civilians. We can only make decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/maybe-we-should-always-show-pictures-bin-laden-pictures-of-our/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [As you continue to successfully make each day better than the last, choosing to make great decisions that are not only ambitious, but ethical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/as-you-continue-to-successfully-make-each-day-better-than-the-last/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [When you wake up every day, it's like a new birthday: it's a new chance to be great again and make great decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poo-bear/when-you-wake-up-every-day-it-s-like-a-new-birthday-it-s-a-new-chance/) [Poo Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poo-bear/) > [“With or without God, good decisions can be made; But only with God will great decisions be made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-thueson/with-or-without-god-good-decisions-can-be-made-but-only-with-god-will/) [Damon Thueson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-thueson/) > [Aaron Rodgers - I love the way he scrambles and how he plays the game - he always makes great decisions with the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-brown/aaron-rodgers-i-love-the-way-he-scrambles-and-how-he-plays-the-game/) [Antonio Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-brown/) > [“It is not your talents that make you great, but your decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-is-not-your-talents-that-make-you-great-but-your-decisions/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Truly, that reason upon which we plume ourselves, though it may answer for little things, yet for great decisions is hardly surer than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/truly-that-reason-upon-which-we-plume-ourselves-though-it-may-answer/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [I could take the greatest deal-makers of all time and they've always had something that didn't quite work out. You never want to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-could-take-the-greatest-deal-makers-of-all-time-and-they-ve-always/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [People have very difficult lives. We can judge them for making the wrong decisions, but if you look harder and understand that these lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-haigh/people-have-very-difficult-lives-we-can-judge-them-for-making-the/) [Andrew Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-haigh/) > [Underneath it, in 'An Inconvenient Truth', we talked a lot about the unspoken decisions that people make in their heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-guggenheim/underneath-it-in-an-inconvenient-truth-we-talked-a-lot-about-the/) [Davis Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-guggenheim/) > [Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/decisions-are-made-by-people-who-have-time-not-people-who-have-talent/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Life's so much based on instincts and quick decisions, and people don't know what they're looking for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-wolfe-herd/life-s-so-much-based-on-instincts-and-quick-decisions-and-people-don/) [Whitney Wolfe Herd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-wolfe-herd/) > [“When society is ful of nonsense like ours, when the government makes decisions people don't approve of and tells you that you have voted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/when-society-is-ful-of-nonsense-like-ours-when-the-government-makes/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) > [“People are unpredictable and predictable at the same time: it seems that whenever you want someone to surprise you they remain themselves, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hiorns/people-are-unpredictable-and-predictable-at-the-same-time-it-seems/) [Helen Hiorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hiorns/) ## 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 Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm interested in the balance between big currents in history - the economies, the ideologies, social structures, and so on - and the decisions that people have to make. At the heart of all these great decisions to go to war, there are human beings who have to say, 'Yes, let's do it,' or 'No, we won't do it.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret MacMillan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-big-currents-in-history-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-big-currents-in-history-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/margaret-macmillan-5907_balance_i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-bi_2178439.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm interested in the balance between big currents in history - the economies, the ideologies, social…” — 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": "I'm interested in the balance between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-big-currents-in-history-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-m-interested-in-the-balance-between-big-currents-in-history-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 } } ] } ```