Sadly, the transformation of strategic frames into blinders is the rule, not the exception, in most human affairs.
Consider the disastrous evolution of France’s military strategy during the first half of this century.
At the turn of the century, French military doctrine glorified attack, reflecting a belief that élan vital would prevail over all odds.
But the attack-at-all-costs strategy proved disastrous in the trenches of World War I.
As a result, the country’s military changed its strategic frame and adopted a purely defensive posture, which took concrete form in the Maginot Line, a series of fixed fortifications erected to protect France’s borders from German invasion.
These fixed defenses, however, proved worthless in halting blitzkrieg attacks.
The hard-won lesson from the First World War became a tragic blinder during the Second.