Democratic Ideals and Reality
Author | : Halford J. Mackinder |
Publisher | : Faber & Faber |
Total Pages | : 147 |
Release | : 2014-07-17 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780571316861 |
ISBN-13 | : 0571316867 |
Rating | : 4/5 (867 Downloads) |
Download or read book Democratic Ideals and Reality written by Halford J. Mackinder and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1919 saw the publication of two major polemical works: The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes and Democratic Ideals and Reality by Halford J. Mackinder. The former is famous, the latter much less so - but it was its own way a prophetic book. Mackinder's message, his warning - addressed to the peacemakers at Versailles - was memorably summarized thus: 'Who Rules East Europe commands the Heartland: / Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island: / Who rules the World-Island commands the World.' Mackinder contended that power was shifting from the sea-borne empires to countries that encompassed the great land masses: Eastern Europe he designated as 'the geographical pivot of history.' His thesis made a notable impression on German geopolitician Karl Haushofer who was keenly read, in turn, by Hitler. But Democratic Ideals and Reality has endured as a critical study of imperial ambitions and geographical realities.