Linda Woodhead

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea of charismatic authority developed by Max Weber (1864-1920) to explain why people welcome some as their legitimate rulers and follow them loyally, for better or worse, while following others only dutifully or grudgingly. Weber was fascinated by those such as Napoleon (above) and Washington who achieved power not by right, as with traditional monarchs, or by law as with the bureaucratic world around him in Germany, but by revolution or insurrection. Drawing on the experience of religious figures, he contended that these leaders, often outsiders, needed to be seen as exceptional, heroic and even miraculous to command loyalty, and could stay in power for as long as the people were enthralled and the miracles they had promised kept coming. After the Second World War, Weber's idea attracted new attention as a way of understanding why some reviled leaders once had mass support and, with the arrival of television, why some politicians were more engaging and influential on screen than others. With Linda Woodhead The FD Maurice Professor and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College LondonDavid Bell The Lapidus Professor in the Department of History at Princeton UniversityAndTom Wright Reader in Rhetoric at the University of SussexProducer: Simon Tillotson

Linda Woodhead, a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, and David Bell, a History Professor specializing in the Age of Revolution, explore Max Weber's concept of charismatic authority. They discuss how leaders like George Washington and religious figures gain loyalty through perceived exceptional qualities. The conversation delves into the impact of charisma in post-WWII politics, its evolution with new media, and the intricate relationship between charisma and accountability. They provide fascinating examples of charismatic leadership's potential for both social transformation and misuse.