Continuing the discussion on Language Hat blog:
I have seen people seriously argue that the most influential man of the XX century was actually Fritz Haber: absent his "nitrate fixation" chemical process, Germany, not having access to natural nitrates to manufacture ammunition, would have had to sue for peace after Marne and World War I would have ended with all the empires firmly in place. Imagine what that could do to XXth century history: Lenin dies in Switzeland, Hitler is a total unknown.
This, not the "laws of history", is, in my opinion, the main problem with "great men" theory: we just don't know the right "great man".
I have seen people seriously argue that the most influential man of the XX century was actually Fritz Haber: absent his "nitrate fixation" chemical process, Germany, not having access to natural nitrates to manufacture ammunition, would have had to sue for peace after Marne and World War I would have ended with all the empires firmly in place. Imagine what that could do to XXth century history: Lenin dies in Switzeland, Hitler is a total unknown.
This, not the "laws of history", is, in my opinion, the main problem with "great men" theory: we just don't know the right "great man".
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment