Who Are The Key Figures In The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam?

2026-03-24 21:14:32 126

3 Answers

Quinn
Quinn
2026-03-26 12:26:32
Tuchman’s choices in 'The March of Folly' are masterful because they span cultures and eras but share a DNA of self-destruction. The Trojans refusing to surrender Helen due to honor, Renaissance popes treating the church like a family business, British elites underestimating colonial 'rabble'—it’s all the same arrogance. Vietnam’s key players, though, hit hardest for me. McNamara’s later regret ('We were wrong, terribly wrong') contrasts starkly with his earlier certainty. The book’s real power isn’t just naming names but exposing the mechanisms of folly: how advisors become yes-men, how dissent gets silenced. I finished it and immediately thought of modern tech giants or climate denial—same patterns, new costumes.
Ulysses
Ulysses
2026-03-30 02:57:15
Tuchman’s book is like a parade of history’s most stubborn leaders, and I love how she picks apart their psychology. The Trojan elders dismissing Cassandra’s warnings because she was 'just a woman' hits differently post-#MeToo. Then you’ve got the Medici popes, more obsessed with Italian dynastic wars than spiritual guidance, which feels eerily like modern politicians prioritizing power over public good. The British colonial administrators in America are almost comical in their tone-deafness—like Burke lamenting the loss of 'order' while ignoring why rebellion brewed. And Vietnam? Whew. Reading about Westmoreland’s body count metrics or Johnson’s private doubts versus public bravado is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

What’s wild is how these figures thought they were the rational ones. Tuchman doesn’t villainize; she shows how systems reward groupthink. It’s why I keep recommending this book to friends in corporate jobs—the lessons transcend politics.
Xenon
Xenon
2026-03-30 20:49:54
The figures in 'The March of Folly' are fascinating because they represent such a mix of hubris and shortsightedness across history. Barbara Tuchman really digs into leaders who clung to disastrous decisions despite glaring warnings. Take the Trojan War—Paris and Priam ignored Cassandra’s prophecies, driven by pride and political maneuvering. Then there’s the Renaissance popes like Clement VII, whose power games led to the Sack of Rome. The British in the American Revolution, like Lord North, kept doubling down on taxes and repression despite colonial unrest. And of course, the U.S. in Vietnam, with McNamara and Johnson trapped in their own escalations. Tuchman’s brilliance is showing how these figures weren’t just 'evil' or 'stupid'—they were often intelligent but blinded by systemic arrogance. It’s a chilling mirror for any era.

What sticks with me is how Tuchman frames folly as a recurring human flaw, not just isolated mistakes. The book made me rethink modern leadership—how often do we see similar patterns today? The parallels are uncomfortable but impossible to ignore.
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