Charismatic leaders and the historical context that brings them to power are inexorably interwoven. However, to suggest that the course of events is not altered by the actions of said leaders is quite naive. You happen to be in good company, though. Tolstoy thought likewise.
-- Luke
--On Friday, September 14, 2001 1:00 PM -0400 Dennis <dperrin13 at mediaone.net> wrote:
> > However, one can reasonably argue that
> > assasinating Hitler, Pol Pot, Pinochet et al before their respective
> > reigns of terror would've prevented a great deal of human suffering.
> > Incidentally, we never would've been able to imagine how much if they
> > had, indeed, been assasinated early on.
> >
> > -- Luke
>
> Murderous policies usually outweigh one man or figurehead. Did Hitler, Pol
> Pot and Pinochet hypnotize those willing to kill for them, or did they
> merely tap into shared grievances and hatreds and exploit them? All had
> top aides and lieutenants who, had the historical circumstances been the
> same, would have gone forward with more or less the same programs. But
> then, this is conjecture, as is your claim that great suffering would
> have been prevented has they been iced.
>
> Had Hinckley killed Reagan, would the contra policy been killed off as
> well, sparing tens of thousands of Nicaraguan lives? Probably not,
> especially since it began with Carter and continued to its logical end
> under Bush.
>
> DP
>