Churchill

The Four Supreme Qualities of Statesmanship Drawing on the most recent historical scholarship and richly documenting his lectures with material from Churchill's writings and speeches, Professor Fears argues that there are four qualities that merit for Churchill the title of statesman. In fact, Professor Fears goes even further. He argues that Churchill belongs with Pericles of Athens and Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest statesmen in the history of democracy because of his: Bedrock of principles Moral compass Vision Ability to build consensus to achieve that vision. These qualities, Professor Fears claims, are intimately related to Churchill's lifelong faith in the ideal of liberty under law and to his belief in absolute right and wrong. That belief enabled him to discern, name, and denounce the wickedness of Hitler at a time when such a stance was far from common. Twin Ideals of Liberty and Justice For Churchill, ideals of liberty and justice were best embodied in history by the twin bastions of Britain and the United States. Those ideals guided him through all the issues and challenges over the decades, and led him to become a friend of social justice but a foe of socialism. He remained a fearsome enemy to both Fascist and Communist tyranny, even though he was willing to bring his country into an alliance with the latter when the former presented the more immediate threat. No Stranger to Controversy Throughout his life, Churchill never shrank from controversy-and never lacked critics. Many of his personal qualities tended to provoke controversy, including his refusal to "stay in his box," compromise his vision, or avoid difficult decisions.