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History properly so-called can be written only by those who find and accept a sense of direction in history itself. The belief that we have come from somewhere is closely linked with the belief that we are going somewhere. A society which has lost belief in its capacity to progress in the future will quickly cease to concern itself with its progress in the past.

— E. H. Carr What is History? (1961)

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More quotes by E. H. Carr

It is nonsense to say that generalization is foreign to history; history thrives on generalizations.

What is History? (1961)

It is significant that the nationalization of thought has proceded everywhere pari passu with the nationalization of industry.

The renewed interest of the past two decades in "the rights of man", itself the product of notorious historical events, shows that mankind is at another of the great turning-points of history.

Rights and Obligations (1949)

Recognition of the truth behind the over-statements of revolutionary propaganda has long penetrated to circles which cannot be brought by any stretch of imagination within the orbit of socialism.

Rights and Obligations (1949)

In short, with the triumph of the industrial revolution and its inevitable consequence, the rise of the class-conscious proletariat, nothing could ever be the same again-not even political revolutions.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: E. H. Carr (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.