> must place blame or praise on the person somewhere as, at least, a myth of society
I think there is value to that kind of myth, but I find that the Great Man theory has a lot of power (more than just as mythology) when put in terms of the but-for key figure; as in, would the environment of the times have resulted in the actions that historically took place if it wasn't for the "great man" involved?
Had Churchill not existed, would the environment of the times have supplied another great wartime leader to follow Chamberlain? Did the shame of the Weimar Republic necessarily produce a figure like Hitler and all that unfolded thereafter, or was he a unique personality without whom things would have been very different?
> must place blame or praise on the person somewhere as, at least, a myth of society
I think there is value to that kind of myth, but I find that the Great Man theory has a lot of power (more than just as mythology) when put in terms of the but-for key figure; as in, would the environment of the times have resulted in the actions that historically took place if it wasn't for the "great man" involved?
Had Churchill not existed, would the environment of the times have supplied another great wartime leader to follow Chamberlain? Did the shame of the Weimar Republic necessarily produce a figure like Hitler and all that unfolded thereafter, or was he a unique personality without whom things would have been very different?