New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- The end of history' is a fool's title. It invites mockery the way a tall poppy invites a scythe. When Francis Fukuyama used it in 1989, it was ridiculed. Critics pointed to wars and coups as proof that history was alive and well. They missed his point, but their reaction birthed a rule: never use a title that claims the past is over.

Let's break that rule to make a narrower, uglier point. Historical analysis, treated as our primary compass, has become misleading. The temptation to look backward is a biological instinct; when the forest creates a new sound, the amygdala scans memory for a match. A twig snap may be a predator; a rustle mere wind. History works as a guide most of the time, which is exactly what makes i...