Great people of History

Yea, trump, he is fucking awesome.

>>2523453
Whoever is in charge when WW3 starts

>>2523461
>this is what r/the_donald actually believes

>>2523461
>>this is what /pol/ actually believes

We only thing of great leaders or artists in retrospective.

>>2523453
Putin is one. The only one i Can think of.
Mostly now it's political parties, unions (eu) and corporations ruling, and they're not unique faces obv.

>>2523453
Bill Gates, hella rich and some what of a pop icon.

If merkel hadn't totally fucked up everything since Greece she might have ascended to great status but no, currently there are no great men around.

>>2523461
Yep.

>>2523453
Revisionism is much more easily achieved in an era of mass media control. Physical media is dying and digital is ephemeral. History and doublethink aren't a good combo.

The problem is that the concept of a "great leader" is typically a myth and today systems are far too complex and we are far too aware of those complexities to believe that one especially great person could have an actual impact on anything

Or you can go with the red-faced alcoholic British Empire historian and say Thatcher and Reagan.

>>2523453
today's world is a lot less cut-and-dry because there are few world leaders who actually exercise absolute power, but instead are at the mercy of checks and balances and other groups that exercise shared powers.

Also, leaders of the past who are now considered great men were subject to controversy and polarized opinion in their time, it's the same today, as there really hasn't been enough time for a person's influence to really impact as a clear legacy in history.

Let's take the Reformation as an example, a world-changing event that essentially was kicked off by a single man. At the time Luther was loved by only the few who agreed with his message, and almost universally reviled by those outside of Wittenburg/Saxony for his challenge against the Church, it wasn't until 50 years later that the Council of Trent relented that many of Luther's and the Protestant's grievances were valid, and centuries for Protestantism to cement itself as a force in Europe that had to be taken into account in political/social dealings.

It'll take time to see if contemporary contenders for great historical figures will have their name cemented.

Perhaps Gorbachev's legacy will be cemented as the man who avoided another Russian Civil War and opened an age of cooperation between the East and West. Or perhaps maybe it'll be Putin who claims a legacy as a man who restored Russia to status as one of the greatest powers of the world, or just as a man who alienated Russia from the west and economically ruined the country. It'll take decades to see how history remembers the mean of today and the legacy they leave behind.

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>>2523461
Probably >>2523492 , Putin might be looked back upon fondly by Russians, Mandela was a near recent example (inb4 /pol/ shitpost). For the most part it depends how history goes. If the EU is unified then maybe someone like Martin Schulz will be seen as a peaceful founding father figure, and Trump if his presidency does actually re affirm Americas position in the world like it was in the 90's. Xi Jinping and his successor might be seen as a modern Mao bringing China into the forefront of international relations.
Mostly it is due to circumstance, no doubt great generals and politicians will re emerge if there is a global crisis on the scale of world war two or the Napoleonic wars.
Maybe technology might undermine this however as great figures of history will not be subject to as much speculation as their predecessors having been more exposed to media and thus will lack the element of mythology required to be great.
I have no doubt however that the 21st century set the stage for some fascinating figures of history.

Erdogan possibly.

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>>2526794

Nice bait, Mehmed.