Who's Your Favorite Historical Figure?

[abaris]

I once wrote a paper comparing/contrasting FDR's management style with Hitler's. It ... disturbed ... my prof.

The major difference being that FDR didn't gear the whole economy towards a future war effort. Many leaders and governments aimed at containing the crisis with public spending and job creation in it's wake. Which is the wise thing to do, since consumers are spending.

Hitler, as opposed to FDR didn't invest in infrastructure. He only invested in the military industrial complex. Imposing regulations FDR didn't impose, such as a stop on raising prices for certain goods, a stop on lowering or raising wages, a stop on changing or quitting one's job without permission by the authorities.

Hjalmar Schacht quit his job over that policy. Because he saw where it led to. Bankrupcy within a few years. Well, since Hitler had a war in mind, as the Hoßback protocol proves, that was no concern of his. The economy was geared towards looting foreign countries.

Your prof, if he's worth his money, should have pointed all of that out.

[SteelCurtain]

Johannes Kepler, without a doubt.

https://youtu.be/XFqM0lreJYw

To come up with what he did with the tools he had... awe inspiring.

[Pat Mustard]

Who's your favourite historical figure, or at least one of your favourites?

I already named a few, previously.

As far as Thatcher goes, she was all of what you mentioned. But, and that's a big but, since you always tend to only look at what you want to see. She was a lot of things you probably wouldn't agree with. I was old enough to watch her age. Back then I didn't get half of what she was all about. I totally agreed with her on taking a hard stance in the Falkland crisis and I didn't give a shit over what she did to the british working class. Now, looking back, my image of her has changed. Quite a lot actually. She more or less destroyed the unions, which is the major reason why so many british people have to cope with whatever the government dishes out. Not the EU, not some big conspiracy, but the absence of any real force fighting their corner.

Thatcher was a useful idiot for the free market ideologues who were having a lot of trouble getting their foot in the door of a major economy before her (not helped by the utter economic basket case their experiment in Chile was. What few people get is that the Chilean economy only started rising again when Pinochet reintroduced some of Allendes policies in the mid eighties, and the country never regained the lost ground fully), who, contrary to the image fostered for her, was easily lead and indecisive during most of her permiership.

[Excited Penguin]

Napoleon Bonaparte. Love that dude. He invented ice cream or something.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I once wrote a paper comparing/contrasting FDR's management style with Hitler's. It ... disturbed ... my prof.

The major difference being that FDR didn't gear the whole economy towards a future war effort. Many leaders and governments aimed at containing the crisis with public spending and job creation in it's wake. Which is the wise thing to do, since consumers are spending.

Hitler, as opposed to FDR didn't invest in infrastructure. He only invested in the military industrial complex. Imposing regulations FDR didn't impose, such as a stop on raising prices for certain goods, a stop on lowering or raising wages, a stop on changing or quitting one's job without permission by the authorities.

Hjalmar Schacht quit his job over that policy. Because he saw where it led to. Bankrupcy within a few years. Well, since Hitler had a war in mind, as the Hoßback protocol proves, that was no concern of his. The economy was geared towards looting foreign countries.

Your prof, if he's worth his money, should have pointed all of that out.

I said "management style".

[Neo-Scholastic]

We have different attitudes about it, I was just giving voice to my own.

I think that's fair.  Myself, I don't really expect to find a lot of thoroughly admirable people.  I think we all have dark sides and inner conflicts...

One of my favorite aphorisms is this: "The best of men are men at best."

[Cato]

Lincoln and Bonaparte have already been mentioned, so I'll throw in George S. Patton.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Socrates, Carlin, Hitchens and Epicurus.

Also whoever it was that figured out how to use fire. A real go-getter, that one.

[Excited Penguin]

Ok, add to that Alexander the Great and Nietzsche.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Was going to include Nietzsche, didn't want to go listing too many.