ACTION AND RESULT

The cover story of Time magazine (December 23, 1991) was about the collapse of the Soviet Union. It included an exclusive interview with former Soviet President Gorbachev titled “A Man without a Country.”

In the January 13, 1992, issue of Time, readers’ reactions were published. One reader wrote that the epitaph on Gorbachev’s grave might read something like this:

Here lies a good man and an idealist who abolished repression and tyranny in the Soviet Union, not realizing that they were the glue holding the empire together. (George Podzamsky, Berwyn, Illinois)

This observation was absolutely right. The lesson here is that the outcome of an action does not follow from one’s wishes but from external realities.

Whatever Gorbachev’s step may have been, the lesson is extremely important: whether it is an individual or a nation, they must realize that while taking action is within their control, the outcome is not. The result depends on many external factors. If those factors are favourable, the result will be positive. If not, no favourable outcome can follow.

The result of an action is shaped not by desire but by historical facts. This law is so decisive that not even a superpower can change it. External realities always prevail, whether we like them or not.