THERE are a great many terms that historians and other writers use when referring to historical people and events. A number of them are bandied around and refer to the political position of a person or group. These include words such as Tory and Whig, which derive from 17th century British history and are sometimes translated as Conservative and Liberal, though their original meanings may have referred to “Irish outlaws” and “Scottish rebels”.
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Other terms such as Right-wing and Left-wing come from the late 18th century French Revolution, when the members of the French National Convention sat on the left of the convention and preferred major or radical changes, while those on the right were generally against change. Today, the words are often terms of abuse.
There were also those politicians who sat in the middle or centre and favoured a moderate policy and are sometimes given the name Moderates or if a political party, the Centre Party. In Britain and Australia, the government members sit to the right of the Speaker, while the Opposition sits to the left. Generally speaking, the political parties in those countries are “moderate”.
Historian Barry Jones quoted one writer, a psychologist, who thought that it was misleading or inadequate to refer to left and right, but that it should also take note of a person’s attitude to violence, civil rights and the right of dissent. Thus radicals and conservatives who are prepared to shoot men in the back of the neck in order to enforce their own ideas have much in common. The psychologist suggested “tough-minded” and “tender-minded”. Hitler and Stalin, as men of violence, have much in common although their economic theories differed greatly. Abraham Lincoln in the United States may be classed as radical and tender-minded, while Mahatma Gandhi of India would be conservative but also tender-minded.
On the question of historical maxims, Lord Acton, the famous historian of Victorian England, is remembered for his maxim, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Other advice given to his history students included, “Learn as much by writing as by reading; be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites; keep men and things apart; guard against the prestige of great names; never be surprised by the crumbling of an idol or the disclosure of a skeleton and study problems rather than periods.”
English writer George Orwell wrote that the falsification of history is the greatest of all crimes because it debases the meaning of all human experience. He added: beware of too much explaining, lest we end up by too much excusing.
Notices
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