In keeping with the topic of our book The Price of Nice, we further explore this theme in the real world and history. Here are just five famous examples that show how not speaking up, or appeasement cost not just people but entire nations plenty:
1) Hitler’s rise to power and WW II (late 1930s)
The “nice” people who didn’t act: British PM Neville Chamberlain and French PM Edouard Daladier
How “being nice” led to the problem: When Germany renounced the Treaty of Versailles, remilitarized the Rhineland, and annexed Austria, Britain and France did nothing. Hitler then figured he could do way more. Why just settle for the part of Czechoslovakia the two nice fellows above gave him when he could take it all? Oh, wait, Poland’s looking good, too!
The result: World War II and the 75 to 80 million lives lost as a result.
2) Mussolini invades Ethiopia (1935)
The “nice” people who didn’t act: The League of Nations
How “being nice” led to the problem: Italy, in all its fascist glory under Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia. The League of Nations (which tragically had no armed forces of its own – a toothless regulatory organization) asked Britain and France to help impose sanctions, but they really didn’t want to get involved, and the sanctions were quite weak anyway because the league felt that restraint was the right tactic.
The result: Mussolini’s alliance with Hitler grew and everyone kind of realized that the League of Nations was useless.
3) Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia (1992-1995)
The “nice” people who didn’t act: All western powers
How “being nice” led to the problem: Western powers heard of what was happening in Bosnia but did not want to intervene because they really didn’t want to get involved and felt it was more a lighter “civil issue” than the organized ethnic cleansing it was. They also felt the UN could just handle it (they couldn’t).
The result: 100,000 or so casualties including 8,000 Muslims alone in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.
4) The 2008 US Financial Crisis
The “nice” people who didn’t act: US financial regulators and affiliated organizations
How “being nice” led to the problem: US regulators had always taken a light touch approach towards banking and investment firms, often trusting them to self-regulate without the need for oversight, because, hey, money was being made and who wanted to get in the middle of that? Left unrestrained, the housing bubble, fueled by irresponsible subprime mortgages, inevitably burst because everyone conveniently ignored that no foundation existed for it in the first place (but didn’t want to say anything).
The result: trillions lost in assets, massive job losses, and incredible financial insecurity. But don’t worry, no CEOs went to jail – some are still CEOs.
5) America, right now
The “nice” people who aren’t acting: Everyone—from government leaders all the way to everyday citizens.
How “being nice” led to the problem: To be fair, nothing of what is happening in the US right now should be a surprise – the plans were announced well before the elections and commitments were made outlining exactly what would follow. But people didn’t believe that such things could happen, because this is America and there are checks and balances and…it just couldn’t, right? Well, it is happening, and people are still being nice. Some are being nice right now because they are afraid; some are being nice right now because their own power stems from the power they need to be nice to; and some are being nice because they genuinely believe what is happening to be right.
The result: Read the news. Don’t be nice.
