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No man is a hero to his valet.

This dictum is attributed to a duke in the reign of Louis XIV. Hegel

amplified is to readNo man is a hero to his valet! not because the former is no hero! but

because the latter is a valet.

Hegel "as interested in heroes because the# are in his "ords! the "orld$historical individuals "hom he sa" as the crucial agents in the progress of

histor#. He himself is critical of his heroes. %orld$historical individuals!

he sa#s! are not ver# considerate of those "ho stand in their "a#. The# arelikel# to trample do"n man# innocent flo"ers! crush to pieces man# things

in their path. &or this! the# must be condemned. The# are also! he reminds

us! sub'ected to the misfortunes that are the lot of great men. The# die #oung

like (le)ander! are murdered like *aesar and end their lives in e)ile likeNapoleon.

Hegel goes on to sa# that his kind of hero! the "orld$historical individual

is a thing of the past. +nce the modern state has been founded! there can no

longer be an# heroes. The# come on the scene onl# in uncivili,edconditions! Hegel affirms.

H.-. %ells brought forth his +utlines of Histor# in /01! defining histor# asthe common adventure of all mankind. In his histor#! the so$called

"orld$historical individuals like Napoleon "ould be seen in proper

perspective! strutting upon the crest of histor# like a cockerel on adunghill. The ordinar# people! the common people are displacing not onl#

"orld$historical individuals! but also elitist figures. In place of the old

histor# from above! let it be histor# from belo"! is "hat H.-. %ells

emphasi,es.Toc2ueville described the essential distinction bet"een the old histor# and

the ne". In aristocratic periods! historians tend to attribute ever#thing thathappens to the "ill and character of particular men and unhesitatingl#suppose slights accidents to be the cause of the greatest revolutions. In

democratic periods! the# tend to attribute hardl# an# influence over the

destinies of mankind to the individuals.In belittling or ignoring individual "ill in the making of histor#! the

historian also belittles human freedom.

Toc2ueville made us a"are of the danger of determinism! sa#ing ( cause

so vast that it acts at the same time on millions and so strong that it bendsthem all together in the same direction ! ma# easil# seem irresistible.

3eeing that one does #ield to it! one is ver# near believing that one cannot!

stand up to it. Thus historians "ho live in democratic times do not onl#refuse to admit that some citi,ens ma# influence the destin# of a people! but

also take a"a# from the people themselves the facult# of modif#ing their

o"n lot and make them depend either on an infle)ible providence or on akind of blind fatalit#.

It is important not to let this idea of free "ill gro" dim! for "e need to raise

men4s soul! not to complete their prostration.

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&ernand 5randel! the father of historical structuralism! upholds the doctrine

that the long$term! inanimate! impersonal forces of histor#! geograph#!

demograph#! ecolog# and economics are the deeper realities of histor#! incontrast to short$term events "hich are ephemeral and superficial. 5randel

compares such short$term events to fire$flies that glo" briefl# in the night

and 2uickl# disappear! leaving behind no illumination! no trace of theire)istence.

-reat events do take place but in the fullness of time! "hen the sub'ective

factor that is human "ill and action fuse "ith the ob'ective factor that isopportunities offered b# historic force. 5oth factors are dialecticall# linked.

It is futile to ask "hich is more important.

( leader should have a loft# vision! a passionate heart and a mellifluous

elo2uence. ( great leader is the embodiment of the hope! aspirations andlongings of his people. He has his finger on the pulse of histor#. 3uch a

leadership cannot fail! as it emerges from the people and is ine)tricabl#

linked "ith them. *harismatic leaders are evoked b# great times.

Hitler and 6ussolini represented fascism in the most hideous form! "hereas*hurchill! 7hukov and 8oosevelt represented the democratic forces but

could have accomplished nothing but the blood! s"eat! tears and toils of thecommon people. It "as *hurchill "ho said! The nation had the lion4s heart!

I had the luck to give the roar. This aphorism of *hurchill sums up the

relation bet"een the leader and the people.