The march of folly
from Troy to Vietnam
by Barbara Tuchman · first published 1984
7mentions
4recommended by
7HN commenters
2015–2026first – last mentioned
57% recommend43% neutral
Traces and explores the recurring pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
> was it always this stupid? Excellent question. There are two easily readable sources I know of covering historical events of the sort you're asking about. The first is Barbara W. Tuchman's The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, where the entire premise is that stupid people did stupid things and then doubled down on stupidity as they went along. The second is Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality…
on “The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody” ↗…Wikipedia articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_S... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness And, btw, the last chapter of Barbara Tuchman's excellent book "The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam" contains an interesting reminiscense of how and why the US intervened in Vietnam.
on “Serge Daney on Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979)” ↗If you haven't read it already, Tuchman's The March of Folly continues the same theme, but as the consequences of the limits of humans and our institutions played out in a few other historical settings. Not as good as Guns of August, but still worth reading
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…collective effects of their efforts end up being net negative. Rather than conspiracies, I think this paradox can explain some of the challenges we face today. Barbara Tuchman wrote a great book called "The March of Folly" that basically documents some famous cases of people unwittingly working against their own best interest, even if the individual steps themselves might have made sense.
on “Tony Hsieh bankrolled his followers, who enabled his risky lifestyle” ↗In the movie Thirteen Days, JFK mentions a book titled March of Folly by Barbara Tuchmann. I bought the book on that tip and it has an interesting chapter on Vietnam. I don't think adding a chapter on this "special operation" would even be worth it as it would just be…
on “Why the US Navy Won't Blast the Iranians and 'Open' Strait of Hormuz” ↗…and does not include things like health care, replacing degraded equipment, etc.) and the Vietnam war cost $738B. It may be the first time a weapon system would qualify as a folly by itself (per The March of Folly, by Barbara Tuchman): * Perceived as counter-productive in its own time (not just hindsight) * Has clear alternatives * Decision made by a group, not a single individual It's generally worth noting…
on “Test Pilot Admits the F-35 Can’t Dogfight” ↗See also: Stupidity: My Reading List for a 12-Week Course (and a Final Exam) By Ted Gioia https://www.honest-broker.com/p/stupidity-a-reading-list Here’s Tuchman from “The March of Folly:” Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well known examples that they do not need citing; 2) excessive ambition,…
on “When the CIA turned writers into operatives” ↗