Could I climb Mount Everest? Yes and no. It sounds like a simple question, but it’s not. If you were to let me train for years and gave me the proper equipment and team, then yes, I could climb Mt. Everest. If you picked me up in a jet right now and dropped me off at the base of the mountain, then no, I could not climb Mt. Everest.

I think the task I’ve set before myself is too much. A general discourse on governments is just too much to write about. I mean, even Machiavelli separated his discussion of republics and principalities. I’ve never written anything like this before, and I feel like I don’t know enough to write something so broad.

The solution? Limit what I write about. Of course, I’ve been thinking about that all along. What should I write? What should I leave out? But now, I’ve given it even more thought. I’ve decided that I will limit my discourse to the topic of democratization. It seems especially relevant to this time period, and it’s the topic I’m most interested in. I’m still debating whether to limit it further.

One more thing, the current book I’m reading, The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952 by Michael J. Hogan, is not telling me what I want to know. I think I’m not going to finish it. Maybe I’ll read the conclusion and introduction. I did manage to finish The Marshall Plan and its Meaning by Harry Bayard Price. Next, I want to pick up a book on the occupation of Japan after WWII.