Oliver Cromwell Saga as an Infinite Game
In his book, Finite and Infinite Games , says finite games have an end – and hence a winner. Whereas infinite games don’t have a clear victor: “Who, for example, won the French Revolution?” I was reminded of that line as I was reading the Hourly History take on Oliver Cromwell. It was the 1630’s, the decade of British King Charles I’s Personal Rule, when the monarch ignored Parliament and ruled as he pleased. Until he had to make concessions to defuse the growing resentment. Had Charles won? But had he made enough concessions? The country was split down the middle on that question, a situation ripe for Civil War. And so in 1642, Charles declared war on Parliament. Cromwell supported Parliament. Though a man with no military experience, Cromwell learnt on the job. As a quick, decisive win looked unlikely, Cromwell switched modes to also becoming influential politically. The armies under control of different factions of Parliament were unified to form the New Mo...