The concept of charismatic authority differs fundamentally from that of glory; the former is often viewed as an innate quality while the latter is the result of one's deeds. Charismatic figures stand out due to their achievements, not their inherent traits. Historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Peter the Great exemplify this idea, demonstrating that charismatic authority has existed predating the Enlightenment. However, the Enlightenment brought significant changes in how political leaders were perceived. The emergence of newspapers allowed for continuous public engagement with political figures, enabling people to follow their actions in real-time. Additionally, the production of printed engravings and portraits made the physical likeness of leaders accessible to a broader audience, moving beyond just coin images. This visual representation fostered a new understanding of authority. Moreover, the growth of novelistic forms in literature during this period provided new narrative frameworks for exploring the lives and personalities of political leaders, further influencing perceptions of charismatic authority.
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 London
David Bell
The Lapidus Professor in the Department of History at Princeton University
And
Tom Wright
Reader in Rhetoric at the University of Sussex
Producer: Simon Tillotson