Visions of History Book

One of the best works in Praxeology and Philosophy of History.

"Behaviorism proposes to study human behavior according
to the methods developed by animal and infant psychology. It
seeks to investigate reflexes and instincts, automatisms and
unconscious reactions. But it has told us nothing about the
reflexes that have built cathedrals, railroads, and fortresses, the
instincts that have produced philosophies, poems, and legal
systems, the automatisms that have resulted in the growth and
decline of empires, the unconscious reactions that are splitting
atoms. "

"Grumblers may blame Western civilization for its materialism
and may assert that it gratified nobody but a small class of
rugged exploiters. But their laments cannot wipe out the facts.
Millions of mothers have been made happier by the drop in
infant mortality. Famines have disappeared and epidemics have
been curbed. The average man lives in more satisfactory conditions
than his ancestors or his fellows in noncapitalistic countries.
And one must not dismiss as merely materialistic a civilization
which makes it possible for practically everybody to
enjoy a Beethoven symphony performed by an orchestra conducted
by an eminent master. "

"Man is not the member of one group only and does not
appear on the scene of human affairs solely in the role of a
member of one definitive group. In speaking of social groups
it must be remembered that the members of one group are at
the same time members of other groups. The conflict of groups
is not a conflict between neatly integrated herds of men. It is a
conflict between various concerns in the minds of individuals. "