(December 6, 2023 at 5:52 am)FrustratedFool Wrote: Was he though?
Is not history made as much by exceptional people as it is by economics, disease, random chance, and general social trends?
I mean, it does seem somewhat intuitive to say the world would look very different without Newton, Jesus, Hitler, Lenin, Shakespeare, Darwin, and so on.
Where do those exceptional people come from? They don't simply pop into existence - they are shaped by the forces you mentioned. For instance, if slavery hadn't been a hugely contentious issue in 19th century America, Abraham Lincoln might well have lived out his life as a country lawyer. Without widespread oppression and a disconnected ruling class, Lenin would be known as little more than a mouthy malcontent.
No one can sensibly deny that exceptional people have an effect on history, but it's more accurate to say that exceptional people are made by history, not the other way round.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
