The past doesn't help; it simply drags one back to yesterday. This is a popular viewpoint in the first decades of the twenty-first century. The history and impact of the First World War - from which this currently fashionable attitude originated - shows how misguided it is. This war of a hundred years ago - or, more precisely, its failure - raised questions to which we are still seeking answers, for example: Who are we? What values form the basis for our lives? What do culture, freedom, sovereignty, legitimacy and democracy mean?All the problems of this "age-old" war and the new world order it brought in its wake are still pounding on our door. It is enough to call together a dozen historians, philosophers and sociologists to see confirmation that the clash has not subsided, and that it will continue until we find answers to the questions raised.