"With hindsight, we see that the Soviet Union never had a chance of world domination, but we didn't know that then"
About this Quote
Cold War fear, in Follett's hands, becomes less a historical footnote than a moral indictment of certainty. The line pivots on a deceptively gentle contrast: "with hindsight" versus "we didn't know that then". It's not just a reminder that people misjudge the future; it's a critique of how political narratives are built on the emotional premium of not knowing. The sentence lets the reader enjoy the comfort of retrospective clarity, then yanks it away by forcing empathy with the anxious past.
Follett's intent feels double-edged. As a novelist who thrives on suspense, he understands that ignorance is the engine of drama. The subtext is that geopolitics runs on the same fuel as thrillers: partial information, paranoia, and the opportunistic storytellers who frame uncertainty as existential threat. "Never had a chance" is blunt, almost deflationary, puncturing the mythology of an unstoppable enemy. Yet the "we" matters even more. It distributes responsibility across publics and leaders alike, refusing to let anyone hide behind "they misled us". The fear was collective, metabolized through headlines, speeches, and policies that made catastrophe feel plausible.
Contextually, the line echoes the late-20th-century reckoning after 1991, when the Soviet collapse invited triumphalism and selective amnesia. Follett resists the smug version of that story. He doesn't absolve the era's hawks, but he does underline the cognitive trap: decisions get made inside uncertainty, then judged as if certainty were available. The sentence works because it turns hindsight from a weapon into a warning.
Follett's intent feels double-edged. As a novelist who thrives on suspense, he understands that ignorance is the engine of drama. The subtext is that geopolitics runs on the same fuel as thrillers: partial information, paranoia, and the opportunistic storytellers who frame uncertainty as existential threat. "Never had a chance" is blunt, almost deflationary, puncturing the mythology of an unstoppable enemy. Yet the "we" matters even more. It distributes responsibility across publics and leaders alike, refusing to let anyone hide behind "they misled us". The fear was collective, metabolized through headlines, speeches, and policies that made catastrophe feel plausible.
Contextually, the line echoes the late-20th-century reckoning after 1991, when the Soviet collapse invited triumphalism and selective amnesia. Follett resists the smug version of that story. He doesn't absolve the era's hawks, but he does underline the cognitive trap: decisions get made inside uncertainty, then judged as if certainty were available. The sentence works because it turns hindsight from a weapon into a warning.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
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