Welcome to Banalogies

"History is past politics, and Politics present history." So said the nineteenth-century American historian Herbert Baxter Adams, who helped establish the field of modern political history through his seminars at Johns Hopkins. Read the media (whether mainstream, conservative or liberal) or listen to politicians' speeches and you'll see that Adams' observation is as vital today as it was almost a century ago. Historical examples, comparisons, and analogies abound, shaping our understandings of today and informing plans for the future. As well they should.

However, there are dangers in using history in such ways. These do not arise because the past has nothing to tell us about the present, but rather because pundits and politicians often employ history poorly. Especially when it comes to the use of comparisons and analogies, historical examples can distort as easily as they clarify. In his 1973 book on this topic, 'Lessons' of the Past, diplomatic historian Ernest May described these risks better than I ever could:

[P]olicy-makers ordinarily use history badly. When resorting to an analogy, they tend to seize upon the first that comes to mind. They do not search more widely. Nor do they pause to analyze the case, test its fitness, or even ask in what ways it might be misleading. Seeing a trend running toward the present, they tend to assume that it will continue into the future, not stopping to consider what produced it or why a linear projection might prove to be mistaken.

And thus, we reach Banalogies. I hope to use this blog to take a critical look at the use of historical comparisons and analogies by the media and politicians, adding nuance, context when I can and just pointing out when some historical comparisons don't make sense. I also have a slightly more "political" agenda and in my case I plan to promote progressive values, something I believe a thoughtful reading of history can do. I should also say that I will certainly make my own bad comparisons and poor uses of history and I intend this as a learning experience as much as a teaching one. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy!