The theory of history presented here is not merely a description of historical facts; rather, it is a way of viewing history, including the questions of how human history started, by what laws it is guided, and in what direction it is proceeding. It is an interpretation of history on the basis of Unification Thought. In short, it is a philosophy of history. Accordingly, this theory of history is called the Unification Theory of History or Unification view of history.
Why is this Unification theory of history necessary? It is necessary in order to establish the correct direction for history by clarifying the image of the future of humankind. From such a theory, a method for resolving actual problems can be drawn. In fact, finding fundamental solutions for today’s complicated world problems is impossible without a clear and correct view of history, possessing a clear vision of the future.
Thus far, many scholars have presented various views of history, but none of them was as influential as the materialist, or Communist view of history. The Communist view of history defines human history as the history of class struggles. Based on this, the materialist view of history asserted that capitalist society would be overthrown through the struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat, namely, through revolution, and that Communist society would inevitably come. Thus, it presented a clear vision of the future. To Communists, the materialist view of history served as the driving force for their revolutionary fervor. Accordingly, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the confrontation between the Communist sphere and the democratic sphere was a confrontation between views of history.
Yet, in the free world today we can not find any existing view of history that can contend with the materialist view of history. For that reason, the free world had been constantly on the defensive in the face of the Communist offensive and threat. In the end, however, the materialist view of history lost favor. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is largely because of the Unification view of history advocated by Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
For half a century, during the period of its theoretical confrontation with Communism, the Unification view of history, a view grounded in a new theology, clearly revealed the flaws in the materialist view of history. The Unification view interprets history based on historical facts, and shows that human history is directed toward the world of God’s original ideal of creation.