So why study history? Unlike physics or economics, history is nota means for making accurate predictions. We study history not toknow the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that ourpresentsituation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we con-sequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine.
For example, studying how Europeans came to dominate Africans en-ables us to realise that there is nothing natural or inevitable about theracial hierarchy, and that the world might well be arranged differently. - P241
Why did modern humans develop a growing belief in their abil-ity to obtain new powers through research? What forged the bondbetween science, politics and economics? This chapter looks at theunique nature of modern science in order to provide part of the answer.
The next two chapters examine the formation of the alliance betweenscience, the European empires and the economics of capitalism. - P250