War and Peace

The narrator reflects on the roles of individuals in history. The purpose of studying history is to create a coherent narrative from this incredibly complicated tangle. The narrator asks what causes historical events—what force moves nations. The study of history focuses on answering these questions through specific points of view, typically focusing on supposedly great men like the king or military leaders. Alternatively, historians discuss states’ relations to one another. However, both of these approaches are inadequate—they fail to acknowledge the complexity of reality. One example is the French Revolution: How could a movement for the rights of the common people descend into so much bloodshed if not for the random chances that led to this slaughter?

The narrator explains the correct way to examine history. Studying biographies of great men is not adequate; believing in the inherent power of a government is limited; and standard historical accounts fail to acknowledge the agency of millions of people involved in the course of events. History simply cannot be adequately explained through limited, reductionist stories about a few dozen individuals.

The narrator does accept that certain individuals have an outsized influence on history. Napoleon issued orders that many people obeyed; the invasion of Russia was the result of such an order.