In the 19th century, Scottish philosopher and historian, Thomas Carlyle, developed a theory of historiography which he coined as “The Great Man Theory.” This theory postulated that the process of historical examination is akin to a series of chronological biographies of these so called ‘Great Men.’ These great generals, artists, philosophers, theologians, and entrepreneurs were the ones who truly had decisive impacts on society, rather than the other way around. Caesar, Muhammad, Shakespeare, Luther, Napoleon, and Ford were not products of their time but the producers themselves. Now while this theory has largely fallen out of fashion within academic circles, it is still a useful conduit to examine the current political machinations of the present day.
In the age of “Make America Great Again”, the mainstream media airwaves have been awash with cries of impropriety and “unprecedented” actions taken by the soon to be inaugurated President-elect Trump.
Trump, by his very nature having no previous experience in elected office, is an unprecedented character for the office of the President.
This should hardly be construed as a bad thing, however. One could make a strong case, as Trump himself did, that what is wrong with this country has been the meandering status quo. Thus the sidestepping of it in favor of a new direction is not only what is needed, but further, what was mandated to Mr. Donald Trump by the American people.
The latest criticism against Trump from the established order has been directed at his administrative appointments. They have exclaimed that the majority of his picks have been individuals who lack both the political experience and standing to hold such high offices.
Instead of appointing primarily a series of well connected lawyers and bureaucrats who have been born and bred within the rent-seeking echo chambers of Washington, he has opted instead to fill a growing number of positions with Middle America’s private sector entrepreneurs and military generals, or as Thomas Carlyle would have described them as, “Great Men” – from the Marcus Aurelius loving General James Mattis to self made millionaire and Carl Jr.’s CEO Andrew Puzder.
It would seem Mr. Trump is an admirer of not only Scottish golf courses, but also Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlye’s ‘Great Man Theory’ as he continues to build a coterie of ‘Great Men’ advisers drawn from both the private sector and armed forces.
The fact that these masters of industry and war hardened generals are forming the core of Trump’s cabinet has sent the established Washington political sycophants into a fiery rage. They have grown accustomed over the years to a revolving door like system with each new administration. The rhetoric and party line may have changed, but the greases to their Byzantine bureaucratic machine did not.
With the help of the media these Washington elites are now trying to slander and discredit each and every Trump appointee in a desperate attempt to derail their nomination. They are following the standard overused leftist diatribe manual, labeling the appointees as a mix of Kremlin stooges, sexists, and racists.
Now with these appointments, Trump is sending a powerful message not only to Washington, but the country as a whole. The message is that in Trump’s America, it will be the Washington political hacks who have to start all over at the age of 50, and not the struggling middle aged & blue collar factory machinist or coal miner.
We can only hope that this “unprecedented” wave continues through Trump’s presidency and that the main stream media will continue to respond with their characteristic hyperbolic tantrums.
Business is a fragile, and fickle beast – those who can win in it are more than qualified for the cushy world of politics