Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive

C. Northcote Parkinson : part III

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Description Does geography make a difference in political thought? Dr. Parkinson discusses his book Evolution of Political Thought, and suggests that geography, and geographical isolation, do make a difference in political thought and practice. He traces the cycle which goes from a primitive paternal structure through a monarchy to an aristocracy, then to a dictatorship, then back to monarchy. Although he sees this as a fairly consistent pattern, Professor Parkinson does not believe that this is, in effect, historical determinism. Men can change his destiny, he says, and the experiments in democracy, although they have not been going long enough to suggest a definite trend, prove man’s freedom of choice. In fitting the Soviet Union into this pattern, Professor Parkinson remarks that it could be called a technological monarchy.

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