The further you can look back, the further you can see forward, said Winston Churchill, a very valuable thought that could help us find a way to navigate the turbulent times in which we live. Between 1910 and 1914, the spirit of the socialist Bolshevik revolution haunted Europe, somewhat similar to what is happening in Latin America today.

Churchill, the statesman, was a conservative who understood that “the only way to keep things the same is to force them to change”, in other words, a state without the capacity to change lacks the means to preserve it. In this sense, he confirmed that the capitalist system is the foundation of civilization and the only model in which the vital needs of the population can be met. In the same way, he said with absolute bluntness: “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the preaching of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal distribution of misery”.

Winston Churchill was a great social reformer in Great Britain, his proposal of capitalism with a human face was similar to the proposal of conscious capitalism by John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. His reforms against unemployment and low wages were criticized at the time, however, Churchill managed to make the size of the country, the power of science and technology and free trade coexist with equal importance, essential to improve living conditions; together with the need to protect people’s welfare in the short term, is what the British politician and journalist Boris Johnson called the “Churchill Factor”, the title of a novel he wrote on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his death.

On this ability to stay grounded while dreaming and acting big to make Britain prosperous, improving the military’s war capacity to protect it from Hitler’s war threat and improving the country’s social capacity to deal with the internal threat of social discontent. Therefore, Churchill attracted people of both left and right opinion and provided the country with strong leadership to face a crucial moment in its history. Personally, he was a leader that people could understand and appreciate, he had the ability to identify with people and people identified with him. He was charming and admirable, easy-going and witty, but also intellectually deep, but above all characterful and daring to decide and do what had to be done. He was a leader with a rhetorical talent for instilling values, but at the same time an executional talent for achieving results with agility.

No war can be won without any risk, said Churchill, the reality a century later is very similar, great transformations cannot be generated in our country without any risk.

Adversity creates opportunity, but how you deal with danger is key to success. Leaders like him and his proposals are called to appear in turbulent moments of history, and we must learn to recognize and support them when they happen. (OR)