Tolstoy’s Critique of Great Men in History (VİDEO)

This video provides an in-depth analysis of Leo Tolstoy’s critique of modern power and history through the figure of Napoleon in his novel War and Peace. The author challenges the traditional “great man” image of Napoleon in historiography, characterizing the idea that individual will governs the course of history as an illusion. The video notes that Tolstoy views events not as a single center, but as a multi-layered and uncontrollable network, linking this approach to the theories of modern thinkers such as Weber and Foucault. In contrast to Napoleon’s arrogant and passive portrayal, Kutuzov’s non-interventionist wisdom is presented as an alternative moral model that acknowledges the limits of power. Ultimately, the video emphasizes that the novel offers a pioneering political critique that dismantles the myth of rational control and defends historical determinism.